DIMAPUR, OCTOBER 19 (MExN): The Naga Foothills Road Coordination Committee (NFHRCC) has taken exception to the letter from the Chief Engineer of the Public Works Department (PWD) issued on October 16, which stated that the department could not involve the NFHRCC in the allocation of works or enter into any tripartite agreements.
In response to the Chief Engineer's letter, the NFHRCC convened a consultative meeting with 12 tribal organizations on October 18. A press release issued by the NFHRCC stated that during the meeting, the house unanimously rejected the letter and reaffirmed a seven-point memorandum submitted on May 8, 2024, which aimed to ensure quality workmanship and formal agreements with contractors.
The NFHRCC called for an immediate suspension of the tendering process for the Foothills Road construction until the issue can be resolved amicably. It further resolved to convene a meeting with the Commissioner and Secretary of the NPWD, the Engineer-in-Chief, and the Chief Engineer to clarify the reasoning behind the decision that has frustrated stakeholders after 11 years of collaboration.
It maintained that since its inception, it had been tirelessly shouldering all the responsibilities through thick and thin in order to safeguard this ‘historic Naga project’ while asserting that its role is non-political and focused solely on safeguarding the initiative.
The NFHRCC recalled that in 2013, the Public Works Department (PWD) had endorsed the NFHRCC to select contractors for the project on credit. It sated that as directed by the concerned dept, the committee had exercised the same with lot of hardships and atrocities.
Then on September 22, 2022, the Nagaland Legislative Assembly passed a resolution for the Foothills Road to be constructed with funding from the North Eastern Council (NEC). However, the NFHRCC claimed that despite repeated requests, the project has not progressed as planned.
In light of the stalled progress, the NFHRCC approached the Governor of Nagaland and subsequently met with the Union Minister of Development of North Eastern Region (DONER) in December 2023. The project was then sanctioned under the Special Accelerated Road Development Programme for Northeast (SARDP-NE). On May 8, 2024, the committee submitted a memorandum outlining seven key points to ensure quality workmanship and proposed a tripartite agreement among the department, the NFHRCC, and the contractors.
To promote local entrepreneurship, the NFHRCC stated that each contractor would be eligible for only one work order, covering a specific stretch of 10-15 kilometers. Recently, it reaffirmed their 2014 agreement with the Nagaland Contractors and Suppliers Union.
Subsequently, the committee had requested the competent authority to convene a meeting with regard to FHR 2 lane construction. However, the committee said it received a letter from the Chief Engineer stating that “the Dept can not officially involve the NFHRCC for allotment of works and is also not authorize to unilaterally enter into a tripartite agreement with NFHRCC for the execution of the NFHR project.”
This led to convening a consultative meeting on October 18 with 12 Dimapur based tribal hohos namely, the Ao Senso Telongjem Dimapur, the Chang Union, the Phom Union, the Western Yimkhuing Hoho, the Western Sumi Hoho, the Khiamniungan Union, the Western Sangtam People Organisation, the apex Lotha Hoho, the Zeliang People Organisation, the Kuku Inpi, the Rengma People Organisation and the Konyak Union, the NFHRCC stated.
