Five Naga tribal organisations – Phom People’s Council (PPC), Sumi Hoho (SH), Chakhesang Public Organisation (CPO), Ao Senden and Konyak Union (KU), have on Thursday submitted a joint memorandum to the Prime Minister of India, through Nagaland governor P.B. Acharya, seeking resumption of the abandoned Special Accelerated Road Development Programme for North East (SARDP-NE) project in the state.
The memorandum was handed over to the governor at the Circuit House, here by PPC president H.Leisha Phom, SH president Toniho Yeptho, CPO president Kekhwengulo Lea, Ao Senden president Imolemba Jamir and KU president Manlip Konyak.
While receiving the memorandum, the governor said the government wanted to help and finish the project, however, he added that there was too much corruption in the system. He said that the people should raise their voices to curb corruption in the state.
Asserting that “money is generously coming to the state,” Acharya, however, said the greed for money and corruption has been preventing development in the state.
Expressing his concern at the hardship faced by the people of the affected districts, the governor assured the team that he would take a strong step to ensure that the work resumed.
The governor also told the team that he would forward the memorandum to the Prime Minister immediately.
In the joint memorandum, the five tribal bodies highlighted about the state and how state and its people were fully dependent on the central government assistance for development and maintenance of the road connectivity in the state.
They also highlighted how the SARDP-NE project for construction of two lane roads from (1) Mon-Tamlu-Merangkong, (2) Longleng-Changtongya, (3) Phek-Pfutsero and (4) Chakhabama-Zunheboto for a total length of 329 kms was sanctioned by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRT&H) and work was allotted to a Hyderabad-based company– Maytas-Gayatri (JV).
The memorandum stated that construction work (earth cutting) was going on in full swing, but came to an abrupt stand-still from June 2012 on the pretext of non-approval of Revised Estimate (RE) by MoRT&H.
As the project was abandoned, they said it ultimately led to blocking the lifeline for five districts which in turn had affected the innocent public.
Despite submitting numerous representations at regular intervals, the five tribal bodies lamented the authorities had given a deaf ear without any justification.
The memorandum also highlighted how the affected parties filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) and how the court disposed the PIL by judgment order dated October 13, 2015 with specific directions to the respondent to do the needful within a month’s time.
However, the organisation said till date there was no development and the public were continuously facing untold miseries and hardships, which, they insisted should not be ignored in a welfare state.
The signatories said they failed to comprehend as to why the government of India was “giving step-motherly treatment to the people of Nagaland”, adding that the action of the government was sheer denial of democratic ethos, defeating the very essence of Democracy, “Government of the people, by the people and for the people.”
“It is a clear case of discrimination to the innocent public that are victimized at the hands of government authorities who were/are nominated, elected and appointed by the people in the interest of public,” the memorandum said.
Maintaining that the then government had not considered the pleas and hardships of “our people”, the organisations, however, stated that the people have high hopes and expectations that “your esteem governance will definitely acknowledge and hear the prayers of the innocent people of Nagaland.”
Due to inordinate delay, the signatories said the grievances of general public were being published almost every day in the media coupled with agitations, submission of time bound ultimatum and declaring bandh at regular intervals.
The organisations pointed out such untoward incidents could be resolved only by resuming the construction of the road project, which, they said, would be possible only by sanctioning the Revised Estimates (RE) that was still pending in the ministry (MoRT&H).
In the light of the facts and circumstances, the organisations cautioned that if the matter was not attended immediately, they would be “compelled to take our own course of action and in such eventuality the government shall be held solely responsible.”
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