DIMAPUR — The Nagaland Public Rights Awareness and Action Forum (NPRAAF) expressed its dismay over the anomalies in the implementation of the Special Accelerated Road Development Programme in North East (SARDP-NE) in Nagaland, as mentioned in the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India.
In a press note, NPRAAF stated that despite spending INR 602.34 crore, not a single kilometre in any of the four roads under the project was completed and it noted that the CAG, in its report tabled at the Nagaland Legislative Assembly, stated that the preliminary activities taken up by the Public Works Department (PWD) were inadequate for the timely implementation of the project.
The forum said that the report maintained that the detailed project reports (DPRs) prepared for four roads were not based on adequate surveys and investigations and resulted in a large deviation in the implementation of the works from the approved DPRs.
It also pointed out that a proportionate amount of INR 36.44 crore paid to the consultant for the preparation of DPRs for four roads was ‘waste’.
The report stated that, as a consequence, not a single kilometre on any of the four roads was completed as per the objectives of the scheme, despite an expenditure of INR 602.34 crore on the execution of work so far and that no further progress has been achieved on any of the four roads since August 2012.
“The single-lane roads that previously existed have since degraded and have been rendered almost unusable, causing hardship to commuters,” the report noted.
NPRAAF further informed that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) had, in April 2008, initiated a mega road development programme in the North East region under the banner SARDP-NE. On April 10, 2010, the ministry approved the two-laning of the four roads in Nagaland in one package for INR 1,296 crore, including centage charges. Accordingly, administrative approval, technical approval and financial sanction for the works were accorded in December 2010.
The forum said that the matter cannot be brushed under the rug on account of public muteness on the matter of corruption of such magnitude.
NPRAAF has demanded that the government set up an inquiry into the misappropriation of funds and punish the culprits responsible for siphoning public funds without a sense of guilt or shame. It added that it will not stay quiet on the matter, considering it a thing of the past but will keep pressing the government until justice is delivered.
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