The Nagaland Foothills Road Coordination Committee (NFHRCC) has convened an emergency meeting with the apex and Dimapur-based Tribal Hohos to “safeguard the Naga public from the influence of benefactors.” The meeting will be held on Feburary 20 at 5:00 PM at NFHRCC Base Office,Kher Mahal,Dimapur. This decision follows the 2013 resolutions on transparency, quality control, and timely execution of the historic Foothills Road initiative, which is currently under construction.
On February 7, the Minister for Public Works Department (R & B) invited all 12 Tribal Hohos to a consultative meeting in Kohima, where it was resolved that a joint meeting with the Committee and contractors would soon be convened to “hammer out an amicable solution.” However, the NFHRCC stated that despite repeated requests from the Committee, the meeting has yet to take place for reasons best known to them.
Meanwhile, the Committee was invited by M/S JK Construction and M/S Chabou & Co to attend a launching program on February 21 at Baghty Division. However, the invitation came without an agreement being signed, despite fervent requests from the Apex Tribal Hohos and the Committee. The NFHRCC has described this invitation as “the highest form of insult,” undermining the dignity and honor of the Tribal Hohos and the Committee.
The NFHRCC has further expressed concerns that the contractors are attempting to suppress the voice of the Hohos and the Naga public. As such, the Committee has urgedall parties to attend the emergency meeting, stressing that it is “high time for the Nagas to decide whether we will crush under the hands of few benefactors or we will develop our land with justice and transparency.”