Tribal students demand SARDP work to start

KOHIMA, JULY 16 : Irked by the incomplete work on two-lane roads under the SARDP-NE even after a lapse of six years, five student groups namely the Ao Students’ Conference, the Chakhesang Students’ Union, the All Sumi Students’ Union, the Konyak Students’ Union and the Phom Students’ Union have sought the governor of Nagaland, PB Acharya, to intervene. They met with Acharya at the Raj Bhavan Saturday evening to submit a memorandum.

The central government has approved the construction of 2-lane roads namely the Mon-Tamlu-Merangkong; Longleng-Changtongya; Phek-Pfutsero and the Chakabama-Zunheboto road making up a total of 329 kilometers under the SARDP-NE in 2010.

Subsequently, pursuant to the order dated 14-12-2010, the work was awarded to M/S Maytas Gayatri (JV) and the contractor began construction of said roads. However, work was suddenly brought to a grinding halt in 2012.
During a press conference held this evening, the students’ bodies said that it was due to failure to release pending bills to the contractor and ‘refusal to escalate cost for work,’ which they said was ‘inadvertently not included in the approved estimate for reasons best known to the government’.

The students’ bodies stated that the previous smaller road which was ‘completely destroyed for construction of the new wider road, and earth removed for widening the road,’ made the road completely “unmotorable” causing ‘untold hardships’ to citizens.

Left with no alternative, they said, the public have been compelled to undertake mass ‘social work’ periodically in numerous areas to temporarily repair the roads to make transportation of essential goods and services possible.

Due to the difficulties faced by the people, a PIL was filed with the Gauhati High Court, which was disposed by a principal seat by a judgment in 2015 directing the contractor to complete the work within 18 months. Likewise, the central government was to release all pending bills and unpaid dues within a month to the contractor and that the contractor was to commence work within a week.

Further, by the said order, RB Misra, a retired judge of the Gauhati High Court was appointed as commissioner to supervise during the period of contract. However, the students’ bodies said, in spite of the clear direction of the court and the continued plight of the people, no further progress had been made in the construction of said roads ‘leading to untold hardships on day-to-day basis.’

Although Nagaland has the lowest cost-per-km amongst the NE states, it could not complete said work till now. In this regard, the students’ bodies said ‘such discriminatory action and step-motherly treatment is palpably unjustifiable destined to create mistrust between the people and the government’.

The students have stated that the construction of said roads must be taken up on priority thereby ‘enabling us to make positive contributions to the economic development of our great nation’.

The five students’ bodies have warned that if the construction of the roads is not started within a period of 30 days, they would be compelled to seek recourse and ‘the government and the contractor will be held responsible for any situation that may arise.’