Maytas Gayatri JV may have been fraud, says governor
DIMAPUR, JUNE 23: Five tribal organizations have demanded the intervention of the prime minister of India to force a resolution and completion of several two-lane roads that are still festering. The roads are the Mon-Tamlu-Merangkong road, the Longleng-Changtongya road, the Phek-Pfutsero road and the Chakabama-Zunheboto road.
Said roads are under the controversial Special Accelerated Road Development Projects for North East Region (SARDP-NE).
The leaderships of the Ao Senden, the Chakhesang Public Organization, the Konyak Union, the Phom Peoples’ Council, and the Sumi Hoho submitted a joint memorandum addressed to the prime minister through the governor of Nagaland PB Acharya at the Circuit House in Dimapur on Thursday. The organizations have appealed to the prime minister to resume work on the long-pending 329-kilometer SARDP-NE project in Nagaland sanctioned by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways in February 2011.
The over-Rs. 1000 Crore two-lane road project covers Mon-Tamlu-Merangkong, Longleng-Changtongya, Phek-Pfutsero and Chakabama-Zunheboto. It was allocated to the Hyderabad-based company M/S Maytas-Gayatri Joint Venture. The earth-cutting work was in full swing but construction came to an abrupt halt in June 2012 for unspecified reasons, but mainly on the pretext of ‘non-approval of revised estimate’ by the ministry, the memorandum stated.
The incomplete work continues to grieve the five districts under which the roads are. The earth-cutting works create mudslides turning the ‘roads’ unusable either by foot or vehicle during monsoon and dry seasons alike, it was informed. In spite of numerous representations, the authorities continue to turn a deaf ear, the memorandum stated.
Also, the memorandum recalled that the affected parties had filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the court. “That after a gap of more than two years (which was learnt to be the grace period given to the authorities to sanction the Revised Estimate of the project), the honorable court had appointed an independent commissioner with direction to submit a detail report to the court after site inspection.”
However relying on the inspection report, the PIL was disposed by the court through an order dated October 13, 2015, while directing the respondents to do the needful within a month's time.
With no visible action till date to resume work, the memorandum stated, that hardships of the people continue to be ignored. Terming the developments as clear cases of discrimination and step-motherly treatment, the memorandum nevertheless expressed hope that the appeal would be acknowledged by the central government this time.
The organizations have warned that they would be forced to take own recourse if the appeal goes unheeded and the government would be held solely responsible.
Attending to their grievances, PB Acharya remarked that the company M/S Maytas-Gayatri JV may have abandoned the construction for two reasons: for being a 'fraud company' or ‘trouble brought by people in general.’
Every legislator, the governor said, is given Rs.1 Crore for area development from the c entral government. Instead of questioning the government, people should review the situation and raise their, including the church, voice, he said.
The leaders of the organizations addressed media persons later. Six years have passed without heeding to the grievances of the people, they said. Their only demand is for the ‘revised estimate’ to be done at the earliest and subsequent resumption of work.
