Noklak Town Council office constructed in record 10 days

Noklak Town Council office  constructed in record 10 days

The Noklak Town Council office cum facilitation counter building at DC Office complex was constructed in ten days at a budget of Rs 9.5 lakh. (Photo Courtesy: Noklak DC)

Morung Express News
Kohima | May 21

In Noklak, Nagaland’s youngest district, the Deputy Commissioner (DC), Reny Wilfred is introducing initiatives to build low cost housing.

As the first experimental project, Wilfred and his administration team, in an undertaking of the Municipal Affairs, built the Noklak Town Council office cum facilitation counter building at DC Office complex, in ten days at a budget of Rs 9.5 lakh.
The budget-friendly house was completed with the assistance and collaboration of the Santhi Medical Information Centre, a charitable institution in Kerala.

“The basic benefit of this project is that we can build these houses even in the remotest location at a very budget friendly manner. If this project can be done in Noklak, assumed to be very bad with accessibility, this can be done anywhere else,” said Reny Wilfred.

The building which was inaugurated on February 6 this year has been constructed with quality materials and includes a modular kitchen and bathroom, living room, and two rooms.

Materials were transported from Kerala using a 10 wheeler truck. According to Wilfred, the cost of constructing the house could have been lesser had the components been available in Guwahati or Jorhat.

While the house cost Rs 9.5 lakh, Wilfred stated that almost Rs 2 lakh was spent on the transportation cost which could have been reduced if supplies were available in the State or neighboring states. Constructing the house also required specialized and skilled workers from Kerala and a few local labourers.

“Bringing a ten wheeler all the way to Noklak was one of the biggest challenges, along with ensuring proper facilities for visitors. We hardly have any accommodation facility here for anyone coming from outside. All these were challenges but we overcame them all, including the frequent power cuts,” the DC shared. “We used good quality materials at the same time we achieved a budget friendly construction,” he added.

Wilfred also acknowledged Dr Uma Preman, Founder of Santhi Medical Information Centre who personally came to Noklak and stayed throughout the completion of the building.

“This is a proof of concept that this building can be built in remote areas for housing of medical staff, teachers and administration officers because these are people who usually suffer from lack of proper accommodation facilities to bring their families. So often we blame them for absenteeism but we never look into their troubles also. This is one solution of giving them a decent accommodation,” the DC opined.

Expressing belief that such projects can significantly shift the perception of remote locations, the DC was optimistic that Noklak can come up with more budget friendly buildings with the use of local products.

The DC informed that more projects are in the pipeline, and expressed hope that the State will be able to execute these projects.