Amid ongoing protests by the Chakhesang Students’ Union against the contractor and the National Highways Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) over delays on the Kohima-Jessami Road project, Deputy Chief Minister TR Zeliang spoke on the issue, providing updates and explaining the challenges involved.
Speaking to the media, Zeliang said, “Last month, we had a meeting with NHIDCL and discussed the issue with the contractor. We had given a deadline till the end of April for the contractor to progress up to 7%. However, by the deadline, the contractor could only complete up to 6%. We instructed NHIDCL to discuss with the contractor whether they can make up the shortfall in the next round. The contractor promised they will catch up in May. We have convened a meeting on May 20 and will sort out the matter.”
When asked why the government is not involving more local contractors in such projects, Zeliang pointed to tendering guidelines as a fundamental problem. “The basic problem is that when they invite the Notice Inviting Tender (NIT), guidelines mandate that the lowest bidder must be awarded the contract. This is the root cause. The lowest bidder should not automatically get the work; the bid must be workable. Some firms quote 35% or even 42% below schedule of rate, which is not workable,” he said.
Zeliang further explained that such unworkable bids result in contractors struggling to make profits, leading to compromised quality of work and deviations from the Detailed Project Report (DPR). “At a later stage, when the contractor cannot see profits, they stop working and eventually get terminated. This has been observed in many packages in Nagaland,” he added.