Fuming Lotha and Rengma apex bodies serve ‘rain or no rain’ ultimatum

‘FOOLED’ FOR SEVEN YEARS
Dimapur, August 6 (EMN): Seven years of having been played the ‘fool’ by the authorities concerned has prompted the two apex tribe organisations – Lotha Hoho and Rengma Hoho – to serve a final ultimatum in connection with repair works at National Highway 2.
On Sunday, the two organisations issued a press statement containing an ultimatum to the National Highway Authorities, Nagaland (NHAN). Making it clear to the NHAN to end the “hide and seek game”, the two organisations have asked the latter to complete earth-cutting works for said project by November this year “rain or no rain”.
Failure to complete the work within stipulated period would leave no room for negotiation, the two apex bodies warned while hinting that they could take the matter to court.
“The fiasco on works of NH 2 widening from 40 km to 72 km (Tseminyu- Wokha sectors) is running for over 7 years: since 18.06.2010, when sanction was accorded by MoRTH, GOI. The tendering process went haywire due to politicisation.
“The supposedly genuine and deserving; but discriminatd tenderer, M/s VASCON & Co went to the Delhi High Court and won the case. The court ruled to award the work to M/s VASCON, vide the court’s ruling dated 08.04.2011”, the statement read.
It informed that the NHAN was even fined Rs 15000/- (Rupees fifteen thousand) as penalty by the court ‘for its procedural lapses in tendering and for backdoor award of the contract work’.
“Even so, the NHAN refused to comply with the court’s order and instead, along with M/s Meenakshi Infrastructure Pvt Ltd took, a Special Leave petition (SLP) and filed the same in the Supreme Court, which was dismissed, dated 23.08.2013.
“After a day, on 25.8.2013, and in compliance of the court’s order, M/s DRV-VASCON (JV) wrote to NHAN for allotment of the work to it at par with the existing status. However it was revealed that the concerned (sic) minister had asked the contractor to please him and no action was taken by NHAN, for the obvious reasons and kept the matter pending for nearly three years and the project was de-sanctioned”.
The two organisations reminded that they have submitted a joint memorandum to the NHAN ON June 4, 2015, following which the then minister of the department concerned had assured that works would begin within two weeks of publication of the news on September 30, 2015.
“After waiting and hoping against hope for six months, the two hohos again, on 9.4.2017, served an ultimatum to the NHAN to start the work; failing which total indefinite bandh would be imposed on NH 2.
“A meeting on the matter was held on the 17.4.2017, in the office of the deputy commissioner, Wokha, and the NHAN assured the hohos, that work would be started within three months, latest by 17.7.2017, which was also published in the local media on the 19.4.2017”.
But even now the work has yet to start, they informed. “It just seems that the Nagaland National Highways Authority is hell-bent to fool the hohos only instead of executing the work. It may be emphasised that the GOI (MORTH) had approved the DPR and accorded sanction on the 31.10.2016, with specific condition that the work must start by December 2016, and to spend 20% of the sanctioned amount within 2016-17, or else the sanction would lapse; and that the work be completed by end of November 2019.
“But sadly, due to inaction of the NHAN, the financial year 2016-17 is now over. It is now made known that an Arunachal-based contractor, by the name TK Engineering Corporation Pvt Ltd, has been awarded the contract work for this stretch of the NH 2. The hohos also smell rotten fish in the award of the contract work to this contractor. However the hohos would, for the time being, only insist on the work quality rather than raising other questions”, it stated.
The two organisations have also reminded the NHAN that it had committed ‘to hand over copies of all related documents such as the DPR , the work order etc, in the many meetings at Tseminyu in July 2017 and Wokha in April 2017’. “Hence the hohos ask the NHAN to make available the documents such as DPR, work order, agreement, MoRTH notification on land/damage compensation, within 10 days, from date of publication: by 17th of August 2017”.
They maintained that ‘such attitude of the NHAN was discriminatory and questionable’.