Dimapur, October 8 (MExN): The National People’s Party (NPP), Nagaland unit has come down heavily on the State government regarding poor road conditions in the State.
A statement from the party’s media cell attributed the poor condition of roads to “incessant corruption.” Citing the Road Statistics of 2013, the NPP said that out of the total road length of 14377.30 km, 12108 km of road comes under the purview of Nagaland PWD (R&B).
“This proves that a major responsibility lies on the Nagaland PWD for construction and maintenance of roads in Nagaland. However, much of the statistics of road development have remained on paper,” it said.
The party questioned the delay in completion of the four lane road project, and also stated that the condition of other categories of roads have also been ‘utterly neglected’ for many years.
Funds sanctioned by the Centre and taxes collected by the State seem to vanish each year, the NPP claimed, adding that ‘cosmetic black tar’ is applied only before elections.
It also decried the State government pressing for an airport in the Kohima “when the soil is not stable and the roads are deplorable.”
The NPP further pondered whether the lack of road development could be attributed to “cronyism and nepotism whereby crucial road contracts are given to favourable contractors.”
It questioned whether the government checks the credibility of such contractors. It alleged a hierarchy of corruption in funds allocated for road development and claimed that “only a small percentage trickles down for actual road development.” The party said that the ‘vicious cycle of corruption’ would continue unless appropriate anti-graft measures are taken.
It also observed that there are no proper measures taken towards road safety. The party called for round-the-clock emergency services with proper equipments at all stretches where landslides are frequent. It also called for setting up reflectors, signboards, safety barriers, proper manning of hazardous zones etc.
It urged the government to hold officials and contractors accountable and suggested a written assurance from contractors on durability of road projects for a minimum of 3 years.
