Kohima, October 28 (MExN): The Public Works Department (Roads & Bridges), Government of Nagaland, on Wednesday clarified that two road projects in Noklak district were foreclosed due to the discontinuation of the NLCPR scheme and not because of land compensation disputes, as had been indicated during the 14th Nagaland Legislative Assembly session.
The Chief Engineer, PWD (R&B), Nagaland, in a statement, said the clarification pertains to Starred Question No. 18 concerning the foreclosure of two projects on an “as-is, where-is” basis: construction of the road from Noklak to Thonoknyu via Sanglao (14.54 km), and construction of the road from Jendang Saddle-Noklak-Pangsha Phase-II (31.00 km).
The department said the contractor, while seeking an Extension of Time (EoT), had cited disturbances from landowners demanding compensation along the alignment as one of the reasons for slow progress and non-completion of the project on time. The same reason was furnished by the department in its reply to Starred Question No. 18 during the 14th NLA session.
However, the department clarified that the project was not proposed for foreclosure due to land compensation issues. Rather, it was closed because the Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR) scheme had been discontinued since December 2017 by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER). Consequently, the project was closed to avoid duplication and to ensure that the remaining work could be taken up under new central or state schemes.
During a joint meeting at Noklak on October 28, the contractor informed the department and the Khiamniungan Students’ Union (KSU) that work had not been stopped by land compensation disputes, and expressed regret that this reason had been cited.
Noting that Noklak district lies at the frontier of Nagaland and is a strategic asset to the state, the department said it is taking priority measures to complete the remaining work.
