On paper, the 20-kilometre stretch from Pungren-Mimi to Fakim, sanctioned under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) Phase VIII, promised to connect remote villages, boost commerce, and ease lives. A sum of Rs.727.12 lakh was sanctioned for construction, with an additional Rs.36.46 lakh for maintenance. The government declared the project complete, even releasing Rs.727.06 lakh in full to the contractor. However, on the ground, reality told a different tale. Since 2012, the so-called “road” has remained nothing more than a battered track, riddled with huge depressions that became water reservoirs during the current monsoon. This jarring contradiction surfaced through a Right to Information (RTI) application and subsequent ground verification. What travellers encounter is not infrastructure but abandonment. Independent observers and whistleblowers like Tsumongthong Yim have documented the farce with photographs that leave no room for denial. What was billed as a highway stands today as little more than a puddle-marked mud path masquerading as a modern road.The Fakim Village Students’ Union has raised its voice, demanding accountability where authorities have failed. The hue and cry made by the Union is not restricted to this project but goes beyond it. The scam exposes a pattern in Nagaland where schemes are “completed on paper, abandoned on the ground.” Invoking the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Vineet Narain vs. Union of India (1998), the Union rightly points out that breaches of transparency are not mere administrative lapses but assaults on the rule of law. Their call for prosecution under the Prevention of Corruption Act, recovery of embezzled funds, and urgent completion of the road is both justified and overdue. How can payment be made for incomplete works and also poor workmanship quality?The Fakim road is not an isolated scandal. Projects worth Rs.30 crore and Rs.27 crore elsewhere during the same period , were similarly declared “complete” even as work sites remained untouched. Engineering norms were flouted, quality checks bypassed, and oversight agencies conveniently looked away. Each phantom project is a betrayal of public funds, of livelihoods, and of communities left cut off from opportunity. The cost of such negligence cannot be measured in money alone. Infrastructure is the backbone of development. For example, when a supposed black-topped road collapses into mud, it affects healthcare access, school attendance, trade, and social mobility. Worse, incomplete and deplorable roads corrode trust. The common people who hear grand announcements turn to dust, become cynical about governance itself. Trust on democracy weakens when state promises exist only in files and not in fields. It is time for civil society organizations reflect on their roles. Rights advocacy must go hand in hand with financial vigilance. Campaigns and demands made on government, must extend field verification and sustained monitoring of public works. Development cannot be outsourced to contractors alone- it requires active partnership between public, media, and policymakers to ensure accountability. The saga of Pungren-Mimi to Fakim is one among many other warning bells. If paperwork continues to triumph over performance, then corruption will erode not only infrastructure but also democratic faith. Such scams also serve as a turning point- in galvanising a collective insistence on transparency, rigorous audits, and swift penalties for wrongdoing. Nagaland deserves more. It deserves roads that connect lives, open markets, and build hope. The path to true development lies in repaving governance with accountability, integrity, and trust.
Tuesday, October 7, 2025