Al Ngullie
Dimapur, January 29
As part of an ongoing thrust to develop urban infrastructure in the State capital town Kohima, and her commercial city Dimapur, the government of Nagaland has submitted project priorities for the current year 2013-2014 totaling several hundred crores. The priority projects that the state’s Urban Development administration submitted recently to the Ministry of Urban Development include integrated urban roadway systems, storm water drainage systems and a general town infrastructure package that includes a commercial complex and a parking complex. The estimates, according to official sources, total to about Rs 260 crore.
The developmental plans have been submitted to the Ministry of Urban Development as infrastructure components under the nationwide urbanization scheme, the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).
Speaking to Eastern Mirror, Parliamentary Secretary for Urban Development Zhaleo Rio on Wednesday said the department has submitted several Detail Project Reports to the ministry to approve the work. “Some DPRs have been submitted and queries have come while we are working on some of them,” Zhaleotold this daily. He explained that the projects have been sought as components of the JNNURM for Kohima town. The capital town is a ‘mission city’ under the central scheme.
He said the projects for this year include integrated road systems for the town that would encompass integration of urban road facilities. The initial estimation, he said, is about Rs 98 crore. Likewise, the cost estimates for the storm water drainage system is pegged at Rs 115 crore.
Further, the parliamentary secretary said the government has sought developmental segments to build a commercial complex and an urban parking complex for the town. He referred to the town’s infamous traffic snarls and the vehicular inconveniences the public continues to face there. To build the commercial complex and the parking facility the department has prepared a DPR estimating Rs 47 crore, Zhaleo said.
The Urban Development chief also offered updates about the ongoing plans of the government to build two flyovers in Dimapur. Zhaleo said the State has already engaged developmental consultants and a detail project report are already being worked on. “The detailed project (report) is being prepared and we hope to complete it by the end of February,” he said.
The government’s rush to complete the project report is understandable as delay could affect the overall outlook of a developmental scheme. For instance, in 2013, the ministry’s Standing Committee on Urban Development gave its statement on the Demand-On-Grants for 2013-2014. The committee noted that some projects in Nagaland, with a few other states, could not be completed due to their failing to complete DPR preparation on schedule.
“Detailed Projects Reports in 4 States could not be finalized and actual execution of civil works could not start and hence estimated expenditure had to be reduced and the actual expenditure had been still lower.
The Committee also found that civil works for water and solid waste management projects could not be started in Kohima, Shillong, Gangtok and Agartala due to delay in finalization of DPRs on account of various technical reasons…” the committee told the Lok Sabha.
Nonetheless, in the meantime, Zhaleo Rio is optimistic that the proposals would be approved and followed through so that the state’s two principal urban centers can enjoy a greater extent of urbanization.
“We are making a request to the ministry (to approve the projects). We don’t expect to get all of them approved but we are hoping to get some funds to develop our urban areas,” he said.
