Our Correspondent
Kohima | October 10
Chief Secretary Pankaj Kumar today said the road construction in north east in general, and Nagaland in particular, is poised for a new growth trajectory with major investments by Government of India planned for the road sector in the region.
“We are finally witnessing the commencement of work on four laning of the National Highway between Dimapur and Dimapur, a long cherished project for the people of the state,” he said while addressing “Colloquium on Road Connectivity”.
“In the past, most notably with the four SARDP- NE roads, the experience has been far from satisfactory. There is a need to learn from such experiences and look ahead,” he said.
Stating that public support can be generated through a process of sharing information and dialogue, Kumar said “Public support is already visible for four laning of Dimapur-Kohima National Highway. Similar support is necessary in other projects to avoid the pitfalls experienced earlier,” he said.
The chief secretary said that today road construction is taking place in a more complex environment than the earlier years when only the Public Works Department (PWD) and Border Roads Organization (BRO) used to look after most roads in the state.
Over the years, with the growing number of National Highways in the state, a separate National Highway wing has been created in works and housing department.
He said the role of BRO has been diminishing on one hand, and the role of new entity incorporated in 2014, namely, the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL), a fully owned company of Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, has been increasing.
“Today, there are four agencies which are looking after various roads in the state: PWD- Roads & bridges, PWD- National Highways, BRO and NHIDCL,” he said adding in such scenario, it is not unusual to have a degree of confusion as to which road is the responsibility of which agency.
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