By Imkong Walling
The Nagaland Foothill Road project has a chequered history, marked by stop-start funding, questions over transparency and accountability, bidding intrigue and even a libel suit. With a fresh set of controversy bringing the project to the spotlight in recent weeks, it is set on adding more to its historical account. But before going into the nitty-gritty of the latest squabble, it would be worth taking a peek into the events and motive that have compelled a people to agitate for a road that is now 13 years in the making.
The first sign of it taking concrete shape, after 4 decades as a concept, appeared in 2013 with the then DAN-III government initially pledging Rs 80 crore, albeit, under pressure from tribal organisations.
The stimulus was the frequent ‘bandhs’ that had become a mainstay of public protests in Karbi Anglong and Assam in general either against their government or Nagaland. Relations marred, time and again, between the two states over an unresolved border dispute, and the occasional road incidents in Assam involving commuters from Nagaland. For a state with half of its population dependent on NH 129 and the connecting Dhodar Ali road in the neighbouring state, an alternative connecting the eastern fringe with the west, through the foothills, within own borders became increasingly essential.
It eventually took the form of a rare occurrence, several tribal bodies converging for a shared but long neglected need. It gave birth to the Nagaland Foothills Road Coordination Committee (NFHRCC), a representative forum that the government has been at loggerheads with till date.
The idea was to atleast have an unpaved but motorable road. There were two resolutions in particular that made the project special— barring statutory taxes, vetoing taxation from Naga Political Groups, and land-owners agreeing to forfeit compensation. This was what had the government relenting, not developmental concerns.
The monetary pledge came in two tranches, Rs 40 crore in the 2013-14 fiscal, and Rs 30 crore in the subsequent fiscal. Ground works began in earnest in December 2013, only for it to come to a grinding halt in 2016, with earth-cutting pending in two sectors. And, as they say, the rest is history.
The project got newfound momentum with an injection of Rs 30 crore in 2021, and Rs 148 crore in 2024, only to be marred, again, by a missing Rs 430 crore “administrative approval” the whereabouts of which the government has yet to explain.
Of late, however, it has taken on an entire new dimension, and likely on a collision course with Article 371 (A). The apprehension relates to the state government reviving a grand scheme to expand the Foothill Road into an all-weather, 4-lane expressway — Trans-Nagaland Highway — an ambitious plan it originally proclaimed in 2013. The intent is well evident. Getting ‘National Highway’ status means the Central government taking over financial burden.
The ambition however comes with a catch. There is a Central government directive, requiring Nagaland to adopt the National Highways (NH) Act, 1956, in line with other states. It basically entails having a uniform land acquisition regime for determining compensation via the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLARR) Act, 2013, in place of the prevailing Nagaland Land (Requisition and Acquisition) Act, 1965. On the other, tribal organisations have already signaled opposition to adopting the NH Act, 1956.
The government’s renewed push for upgrading to a 4-lane highway appears more a classic ‘lollipop policy,’ diverting attention from its failure to complete an intermediate lane road project it began 13 years ago.
The writer is a Principal Correspondent at The Morung Express. Comments can be sent to imkongwalls@gmail.com
