Nagaland Foothill Road Coordination Committee raises red flag over Foothills Road lapses

DIMAPUR — The Nagaland Foothill Road Coordination Committee (NFHRCC), after consultations with tribal hohos, has urged the state government to ensure immediate completion of the two-lane Foothills Road from Tizit to Khelma “before venturing out further.”

In a statement issued on Sunday, the committee also pressed for the early issuance of Phase-II works under the SASCI loan component to all remaining divisions through an open tender system.

The NFHRCC said that it was “utterly shocked” to learn about alleged defects in the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of Baghty division.

According to the committee, the ongoing works—comprising five double-lane galvanised steel bridges and a 41-km road upgrade from Doyang Bridge (Governor’s Camp) and Liphanyan to Merapani Foothills point—were found to have no embankments, side walls or retaining walls throughout the stretch.

Also read: NFHRCC inspects Foothills Road in Tizit

It added that during several joint inspection visits, departmental officials were unable to provide “adequate explanation” for the omissions.

The overall progress of the work was described as “abysmally slow”.

Following a resolution adopted on December 5, the committee stated that the Lotha Hoho and its subordinate bodies, including LLRPO and YAPO, have been entrusted to urgently convene a meeting with the contraction firms concerned and the divisional officials to address the discrepancies and expedite completion.

The committee further urged the NPWD (Roads & Bridges) to fill the existing manpower gap in Baghty division, citing an “acute shortage of field staff” responsible for supervising the longest stretch of the Foothills Road project.