Centre says 14 National Highway projects in Nagaland remain delayed, citing land acquisition, clearances, contractor performance and law and order
KOHIMA — Fourteen National Highway (NH) projects in Nagaland sanctioned during the last five financial years have exceeded their original completion deadlines, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Jairam Gadkari informed the Lok Sabha on Thursday.
In a written reply, Gadkari said that the delayed projects do not include those under consideration for termination or foreclosure.
He attributed the delays to land acquisition issues, statutory clearances, utility shifting, encroachment removal, law and order problems, poor performance by contractors or concessionaires, and force majeure events such as the Covid-19 pandemic.
The minister clarified that delays do not necessarily result in cost overruns. Where delays are not attributable to contractors, price escalation is paid as per contract provisions and may or may not increase the overall project cost. If the contractor is responsible for the delay, penalties are imposed and no additional cost is borne due to the delay, although traffic congestion may occur at construction sites, particularly at major junctions.
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Gadkari stated that NH projects are generally scheduled for completion within two to three years from the date of commencement. However, extensions may be granted under contract provisions when delays arise from factors beyond the control of contractors or concessionaires, including land acquisition, statutory clearances, utility shifting, law and order issues, changes in law and force majeure events.
He informed the House that the Centre has imposed cumulative penalties of about INR 2,732 crore on contractors and concessionaires for delays over the past three financial years, of which about INR 780 crore has been recovered.
To improve project execution, Gadkari said the government has strengthened monitoring mechanisms, conducts regular review meetings with stakeholders, and closely tracks delayed projects. State governments also hold coordination meetings led by chief secretaries to resolve bottlenecks, while unresolved issues are escalated to the Project Monitoring Group and the PRAGATI platform.
Among the north-eastern states, Assam has the highest number of delayed NH projects at 23, followed by Nagaland (14), Manipur (13), Sikkim (4), Tripura (4), Arunachal Pradesh (3), Meghalaya (3) and Mizoram (2).