Isolated from project, Nagaland Foothills Road Coordination Committee seeks Chief Minister’s intervention

• DIMAPUR — The Nagaland Foothills Road Coordination Committee (NFHRCC) has expressed dismay over being excluded from recent developments concerning the Foothills Road project, which it has spearheaded since inception in 2013.
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• In a press release issued on Friday, the NFHRCC stated that it was not invited to the proposed consultative meeting on April 30 in Kohima, convened by the state government to deliberate on the Foothills Road project. The meeting was expected to include 60 MLAs, two Members of Parliament, and representatives from apex tribal and women hohos. The meeting was later postponed, reportedly following intervention from other organisations, the committee said.
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• Further, the committee criticised the Public Works Department (Roads & Bridges) for issuing an office order dated May 28 to begin survey work for demarcating a 30-metre Right of Way (RoW) for the road alignment beginning June 2, without informing or consulting the NFHRCC.
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• Stating that the move was akin to “adding more salt to the wound”, the committee reiterated its position that “there will be no Foothills Road alignment or realignment or expansion or contraction without consultation with NFHRCC.”

Also read: Nagaland Foothills Road Coordination Committee reconstitutes executive, adopts resolutions

• According to the NFHRCC, the Foothills Road project was conceptualised by the committee, and its efforts began with a joint survey on September 24, 2013, following a green signal from the then Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio. The project was officially launched on December 21, 2013, at Longtho under Mangkolemba division.
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• In 2018, the committee handed over No Objection Certificates (NOCs) from landowners to the chief minister with the understanding that land would be provided and roads would be built in return, in line with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways’ (MoRTH) policy at the time.
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• In its statement, the NFHRCC underscored its role in the project’s development, highlighting how it had worked to convince landowners to part with their land without compensation. It had also reached understandings with various Naga political groups to prevent taxation on the project, coordinated logistics with contractor bodies, and even imposed a bandh in Dimapur against alleged “unfair practices” in the project in June 2014. The release also noted that over the last 13 years, seven prominent committee members had passed away while serving the project.
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• The NFHRCC alleged that the department’s attitude shifted following the allocation of an INR 148.5 crore soft loan under the Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI) scheme. It expressed concern that the committee was referred to as a mere “pressure group” by officials, despite what it described as a longstanding, collaborative relationship with the PWD (R&B).
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• “However, the fact remains that the Nagaland Foothills Road was conceptualised by the committee,” it maintained.
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• In this context, the committee appealed for the chief minister’s intervention to guide the department. It emphasised that Rio has long been associated with the vision for the Foothills Road, including efforts to initiate the project during his tenure as PWD Minister in 1993. The statement described him as the “dictionary of the Foothills Road,” urging him to ensure that the project’s original intent and history are not diluted or ignored.
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• Asserting that it will not accept any road alignment, realignment, expansion, or contraction without its consultation, the committee also called for a “clear statement” from the chief minister regarding the 2018 handover of the NOCs.
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• While governments and ministers will come and go, “history will remain the same,” it said, calling for mutual trust and respect among all stakeholders to carry the “Naga’s historic project” forward.