Significant delays in various NESIDS-OTRI projects in Nagaland

DIMAPUR — A total of INR 1,948.74 crore was allocated towards 146 infrastructure projects in Nagaland under the North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme (NESIDS) – Other Than Roads Infrastructure (OTRI) between 1998 and 2023.

This funding, provided by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), spans several sectors, including Agriculture and Allied, Education, Health, Irrigation and Flood Control, Miscellaneous, Power, Roads and Bridges, Sports, Tourism and Culture, and Water Supply. However, several projects, including crucial infrastructure in healthcare and education, have experienced significant delays.

According to DoNER data, as of July 2024, the total financial expenditure stands at INR 1589.89 crore, with 115 projects completed and 31 projects still ongoing.

In the education sector, 16 projects were approved at a cost of INR 124.38 crore, of which INR 93.89 crore had been utilised as of March 31, 2024. Out of the total projects, 14 have been completed, while two are ongoing.

The “Implementation of Educational Infrastructure related to IT projects in 190 schools across Nagaland,” sanctioned on May 10, 2022, with a budget of INR 18.95 crore, was scheduled for completion on May 31, 2024, and has so far utilised INR 7.58 crore.

Another project approved on March 31, 2021, is the “In-Service Teachers Training-cum-Examination Centre with Residential Facilities in Nagaland” at a cost of INR 15.5 crore, with March 31, 2022, as the scheduled completion date. However, this project is also still ongoing, and the expenditure so far is INR 6.2 crore.

Out of the seven projects approved at a cost of INR 136.94 crore in the health sector, only three have been completed, while four are ongoing. The total expenditure so far stands at INR 68.09 crore.

Interestingly, a project titled “Upgradation of Naga Hospital at Kohima,” which was sanctioned on December 23, 1998, with the completion date set for March 31, 2001, is still under the “ongoing” category.

The project falls under the sub-scheme of the Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR) scheme, with the Department of Power as the executing department.

In Irrigation and Flood Control, four out of five projects are complete, with a total expenditure of INR 21.73 crore out of the allocated INR 26.10 crore.

Notably, the “Tsurang Irrigation Project,” implemented on December 19, 2007, with a scheduled completion date of March 31, 2010, remains ongoing 14 years later. This project also falls under the NLCPR scheme, with the Department of Power as the executing department.

Meanwhile, the “Construction of Rani Gaidinliu Library-cum-Memorial Museum at Kohima,” the only project under the Tourism and Culture sector, remains ongoing more than a decade after its scheduled completion date of June 30, 2012. The project was sanctioned on September 19, 2011, with a budget of INR 9.83 crore. So far, an expenditure of INR 5.84 crore has been incurred.

Furthermore, twenty out of 24 projects categorised as “miscellaneous” are complete, with a total expenditure of INR 77.94 crore against the allocated INR 107.34 crore.

Four projects are ongoing in this category. They include the “Construction of Judicial Quarters for Judicial Officers in Nagaland” under the NLCPR scheme, which was approved on February 28, 2014, and was scheduled for completion on January 31, 2017, and the “Construction of New High Court Complex at Kohima Phase-I (Construction of residence for [the] Chief Justice of [the] High Court and Construction of residences for Justices of [the] High Court (six blocks),” sanctioned on December 19, 2017, with December 31, 2020, as the scheduled completion date.

Another project, “Construction of Multipurpose Hall at Longleng in Nagaland,” approved on December 9, 2009, was scheduled for completion on June 30, 2011, but remains ongoing. This project falls under the NLCPR scheme, with the Department of Power as the executing department.

Two more ongoing projects in the miscellaneous category are the “Construction of Rest House for ADC HQ at Aboi under Mon District,” sanctioned on September 19, 2011, with August 31, 2014, as the completion date, and the “Extension of Hotel Japfu in Nagaland,” approved on July 5, 2013, with a scheduled completion date of June 30, 2015.

In the Power sector, 11 out of 14 projects are complete. The ongoing projects include the “Up-gradation of Transformation Capacity at 132 kv Sub-station Nagarjan, Dimapur (132/66 kv, 100 MVA-1Nos. and 66/33, kv, 50 MVA -1 nos.),” sanctioned on December 22, 2023, and scheduled for completion on January 31, 2028.

Notably, the “23MW HFO, Thermal Power Plant, Dimapur” project, approved on March 17, 2004, remains ongoing, close to two decades after the scheduled completion date of July 31, 2005.