Lotha Hoho and its frontal organisations reminded that the people of Wokha district in general and of Wokha town in particular,have been eagerly awaiting the upgradation of the national highway (NH) 2 through Wokha town for the past two years.
The Lotha Hoho and the frontal organisations – the Village Council Chairmen Association (VCCA), Lotha Students’ Union (LSU), Lotha Eloe Hoho (LEH), Lotha Youth Hoho (LYH), Joint Action Committee (JAC) on Hational Highway 2 – in a joint statement, noted that the widening and strengthening of NH-2 through the Wokha town – from 72.4 km to 83 km (was for a stretch of 10.6 km).
According to the signatories the sanctioned amount for the project was Rs.122, 31, 78, 000 (one hundred and twenty two crore, thirty one lakh and seventy eight thousand), which translated to Rs11,53,94,150 per kilometre. The amount for damage compensation within this stretch was Rs17,79,39,874, which amounted to Rs.1,67,86,780 per km.
They said the contract work was allotted to M/s TTC Infra India Ltd and, as the specified average carriageway was given as 8.50 metre (28 feet), formation width (total width of the road) was carriageway plus the shoulders on both sides and the drain.
However, due to various reasons like improper payment of damage compensation, non-acquisition of compensated land, non-cooperation by the contractor, etc, the project has not been implemented so far.
They also ointed out that the problem of acquisition was not of the entire stretch and asked the contractor to execute the work, except where acquisition was not finalised. However, they claimed that the contractor withdrew all his machineries, inventories and manpower from worksite in May 2023 citing lame excuses.
They asked whether the contractor was deliberately delaying the implementation for seeking revision of the project report?. They clarified that the stakeholders were not hindering the work execution, but instead insisting on proper implementation as per approved specifications.
Though the sanctioned amount would lapse on March 31, 2024, they said the amount of work so far done was hardly 10% and feared that it might not be possible to execute the remaining work within the remaining three months.
In this regard,LH and frontal organisations stated that numerous coordination meetings were convened by various authorities and organisations, including the Wokha district administration, highway authority, stakeholder NGOs, CSOs, etc, to resolve the matter but to no avail.
Among the various meetings, they stated that the high-level consultation meeting on the matter was convened by deputy chief minister TR Zeliang, who was in-charge of National Highway, on November 16, 2023 at the Nagaland Secretariat Conference Hall, Kohima.
The meeting culminated in agreeing by all parties that the work would resume on December 1, 2023, with the deputy chief minister also committing to personally inspect the work site. He did carry out on the spot inspection on December 4 with all stakeholder parties, authorities and the contractor.
After spot verification, Zeliang also held a meeting at Hammock Resort, Wokha and all parties unanimously agreed to resume the work immediately. The improper acquisition of compensated sites and structures were to be acquired by the Wokha district administration and national highway authority as per the record of payments of compensation.
However, the signatories alleged that the authorities concerned and contractor had so far not taken any action. They said they did not understand why the district administration, the national highway authority and the contractor were remaining idle and not showing any concern for the people.
According to the organisations, the public were apprised that except where acquisition was to be finalised for paid structures/land, the contractor should have executed the roadwork. They said it was needless to explain since commuters could see the reality of the road condition at Wokha town. They claimed that the stakeholders knew the ground reality and the contractor was responsible for the delay, insisting that the firm be blacklisted and the work allotted to any other competent contractor.
They said the district administration and national highway, Kohima division, jointly assessed the compensation amounts and paid by them according to their assessment. Hence, the organisations warned that the district administration and the NH division authorities would be held responsible.
Asserting that the delay was no longer tolerable, the signatories cautioned that the stakeholders would not be responsible for any untoward eventuality, besides demanding that the contractor be blacklisted and not allotted work anymore.
Since there has been no breakthrough, the Lotha organisations have urged upon the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) to examine the matter and summon the authorities concerned for necessary action to implement the work. They also demanded that the ministry blacklist the contractor, M/s TTC Infra India Ltd, and allot the work to another competent contractor.
They accused the Wokha district administration and the NH division of being lackadaisical in their attitude and showing least concern for the welfare of the people.
Given the circumstances, they organisations declared that they would have no other option but demand a CBI inquiry. They also demanded that the district administration and NH officers should be held accountable and disciplinary action taken against them as per the lawfor the mischievous compensation payments.
They also declared that any delay would not make them forget the matter and give up the matter, but rather provoke them more and make the imbroglio worse and more serious.
They urgedthe authorities and the contractor to solve the matter at the earliest so as to avert any further confrontation and improve the work implementation. The joint statement was issued by Er. Mhondamo Ovung(chairman Lotha hoho); Tsupon Murry(general secretary Lotha Hoho, Okying Wokha); Chiben Kikon( convenor joint action committee, NH 2/61); Lirhonthung Kithan(president Lotha Students Union, Wokha); Thungbeni Nugllie(president Lotha Eloe Wokha; Limhathung Yanthan( Lotha hoho youth Wokha); Er.Sanchio Kithan(chairman Wokha town colonies union) and Vandan Erui( president, WD Village council chairmen association& chairman Wokha village council)