Appeal for keeping short-term maintenance contract on hold
DIMAPUR, AUG 21 (NPN): Five apex tribal organisations– Chang Khulei Setshang (CKS), United Sangtam Likhüm Pümji (USLP), Khiamniungan Tribal Council (KTC), Yimkhiung Tribal Council (YTC) and Tikhir Tribal Council (TTC)– have set the first week of October as the deadline for completion of pending maintenance works on National Highway-202, warning of action if the contractors failed to execute the works within the stipulated period.
In a joint representation addressed to deputy chief minister and minister in-charge of NH, CKS vice president N. Sipong Chang, USLP president K. Aliba Sangtam, KTC president L. Ngon, YTC president Throngso Yimkhiung and TTC president Timong also appealed for keeping the implementation of Short-Term Maintenance Contract (STMC) for 2026-27 in abeyance until the previous year’s works were completed.
The five bodies said they had observed that the STMC works awarded to Hi-Tech Construction & Co., Pace Enterprises and Classic Construction for maintenance of NH-202 from June 19, 2025, to June 19, 2026, remained incomplete across the highway stretch despite the expiry of the contractual period.
They said the contractors would be given until the first week of October to complete the pending works without compromising the quality of workmanship.
The organisations warned that failure to complete the works within the deadline would compel their respective bodies to initiate action as deemed appropriate.
Welcoming the sanctioning of a one-year STMC for 2026-27 covering a 244-km stretch of NH-202, they maintained that implementation of STMC should be kept on hold until the works sanctioned for 2025-26 were completed.
They demanded early implementation of proposed two-laning of NH-202, describing the highway as the lifeline of the people of Tuensang, Shamator, Noklak and Kiphire districts.
Referring to a July 27 communication from the MoRTH concerning an interim arrangement for implementation of NH projects in Nagaland, they said several meetings and communications had already taken place between the deputy chief minister and tribal representatives regarding the two-laning project.
They pointed out that NH-202 remained one of the oldest highways and the only major National Highway serving the four districts that was yet to be upgraded to a proper two-lane road.
Stating that other parts of the state had already benefited from upgraded two-lane highways, they urged the competent authority to initiate two-laning project of NH-202 at the earliest.