Foothills Road talks continued as several Nagaland tribal bodies stayed away from the NFHRCC meeting in Dimapur.
Share
-1779204052073.png&w=1200&q=75)
DIMAPUR — A joint meeting convened by the Nagaland Foothills Road Co-ordination Committee (NFHRCC) with all 15 apex tribal hohos on Tuesday ended without the participation of the apex bodies.
The meeting, held at the NFHRCC office at Kher Mahal in Dimapur, was organised as a follow-up to the April 14 consultative meeting at Hotel Saramati, where the committee had agreed to keep its proposed democratic agitation in abeyance after intervention by tribal bodies.
However, while Dimapur-based tribal hohos attended Tuesday’s deliberations, the apex tribal bodies stayed away.
Addressing media persons after the meeting, NFHRCC convener Supu Jamir said the meeting had been convened in view of the request made earlier by the 15 apex tribal hohos to suspend the proposed agitation and pursue dialogue with the government.
“Today’s meeting was organised to update them on the present position of the committee, but the apex tribal hohos did not attend. Only the Dimapur-based tribal bodies attended the meeting, which lasted for more than two hours,” Jamir said.
Also read: 15 Nagaland tribal hohos back Foothills Road upgrade to two-lane National Highway
Foothills Road project hits hurdle as CPO, WSH stay away from NFHRCC meeting
He said the committee had requested the tribal bodies to engage with the government and jointly deliberate on the issue with the NFHRCC.
On the pending second-phase work orders for the Foothills Road project, Jamir said the committee would continue to pursue the matter, maintaining that administrative approval for the project had already been accorded under the Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI) loan scheme.
Regarding the next course of action, he said the Dimapur-based tribal hohos had been entrusted with communicating with their respective apex bodies so that a joint sitting could be convened at the earliest.
WATCH MORE:
When asked about the decisions of the Chakhroma Public Organisation (CPO), Western Sümi Hoho (WSH) and Lotha Hoho not to participate in any NFHRCC agitation, Jamir said the committee remained inclusive.
“It is their decision, but our doors remain open because the road belongs to the entire Naga family,” he said.
In a statement issued later in the evening, the NFHRCC Media Cell said four apex tribal bodies — Ao Senden, Konyak Union, Lotha Hoho and Phom Peoples Council — had sent regret letters stating that they would not attend the meeting as they would not support any form of protest against the state government “at this juncture”.
The committee also noted that WSH and CPO had conveyed similar positions through the media, though they bore “no ill feelings” towards the initiatives of the NFHRCC.
Despite the absence of the apex bodies, the meeting adopted three resolutions.
The meeting resolved to convene an immediate joint meeting involving the 15 apex tribal hohos, Dimapur-based tribal hohos and the NFHRCC, to be initiated by the Dimapur-based tribal bodies.
It also resolved to conduct a joint inspection of all ongoing Foothills Road construction works at the earliest and reiterated its demand that the Nagaland Public Works Department (Roads and Bridges) immediately finalise the issuance of second-phase work orders through an open tender process based on the administrative approval already granted under the SASCI loan scheme.