Need to focus on road sector for all round development of the State: TR

Ahuna festival cum commemoration of 50 years of Zunheboto dist held

Morung Express News
Zunheboto | November 15

Nagaland’s Deputy Chief Minister TR Zeliang on Tuesday said one of the most important sectors which need to be focused for all round development of the State is the road infrastructure.  

With the State budget unable to provide good quality roads due to limited and poor financial position, Zeliang, however, assured that the State Government was earnestly working to bring in more projects by getting more roads to be declared as National Highway. 

Addressing the Ahuna festival cum commemoration of 50 years of Zunheboto district, the Deputy CM maintained that after being entrusted with the National Highway department, his primary aim was to resolve the land compensation issue which has been a major stumbling block to successful implementation of projects.

Prior to 2018, he said all the National Highways which were sanctioned and implemented had compensated for the land and property damage. In the last Cabinet Meeting on November 8, a decision was passed to pay land compensation wherever applicable henceforth and at Government Schedule of Rate. 

Also, in a review meeting at Guwahati called by the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highway Nitin Gadkari on October 30, the Deputy CM said they were told that the Union Government is ready to construct National Highways but they should be provided land. 

And if the State cannot provide land then they are more than willing to descope the portion and hand it over to the State PWD, Zeliang stated adding that this will be too costly as the State budget alone cannot construct any quality roads due to fund constraint.  

Zeliang also informed that compensation can only be paid for National Highway projects. For other road projects which comes under Schemes like PMGSY, CRIF, NESIDS (Roads), NEC and any other schemes, there is no provision for any sort of compensation, therefore we should not claim and disrupt the implementing agencies in carrying out projects, he explained.

Unable to get new sanctions due to State’s high BoS 
Another area of concern, Zeliang pointed out was the inability of the State to get new sanctions from the Ministry. He revealed that this was due to high Bank of Sanction of the State which stood at 10.40 whereas the permissible BoS for hill States is only 4.00. 

On this, the Department of Planning & Transformation called a meeting of all the Departments in the State who are implementing the Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) to review and update on the status of the various projects, with an aim to foreclose those projects which are stalled and unable to complete owing to various reasons. 

This exercise was necessitated so that the BoS can be reduced, to make the State eligible for new sanctions. By the month of October, the BoS of the State came down to 5.28. This will now help us get new sanctions from the Ministry, Zeliang stated. 

On the occasion, Zeliang said Zunheboto District, also known as the Land of Warriors, has been the cradle of many great personalities in various fields who have significantly contributed to the Naga cause and the growth of the State. 

Besides, the District is very strategically located, bordering 7 districts in the State and given the right push; it could be the center of growth and cater to the needs of the neighboring districts, he stated.

On Article 371(A), Zeliang noted that this Act is very dear to our hearts and we should protect it. But those same rights given to us by the Constitution of India should not hamper in our developmental activities, he added. 

“What good is it to us if some take shelter under that Article for their personal gains and hamper the developmental activities which otherwise would benefit the community. We should introspect and retrospect on it and educate our people and make use of the Article to our advantage rather than letting it become a disadvantage in our endeavor to move forward.”

Guest of honour, Advisor AH&VS, Kazheto Kinimi called on the youth to give importance to tribal festivals and preserve the rich culture and traditions. Citing the example of the Hornbill festival where people from all around the world come to see the rich cultural traditions of the Nagas, he encouraged the people to preserve the culture and traditions and to keep it intact. 

Greetings were delivered by Tsapikiu Sangtam, President, Eastern Nagaland People Organisation (ENPO), Kekhwengulo Lea, President, Tenyimia Union Nagaland and Khondad Ngully, President, Central Nagaland tribes Councils (CNTC). 

The celebration was graced by various cultural song and dances by Alahuto colony (Ahuna display), Laghilato colony (Folk dance men), Project colony (Thishele), Amiphoto colony (Folk dance women) and South point colony (Indigenous song).