PAC flags survey lapses, changed alignment, land acquisition problems and repeated delays in the Dimapur-Kohima rail project
The Dimapur-Kohima railway project, sanctioned nearly two decades ago to improve rail connectivity to Nagaland’s capital, has seen its estimated cost rise from ₹850 crore to ₹6,663.20 crore, while physical progress remained below 25 per cent as of March 2022.
A Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report presented in Parliament on Tuesday has attributed the troubled progress to a series of shortcomings in planning and execution, including inadequate initial surveys, land acquisition irregularities, repeated alignment revisions, tunnel-design issues, premature procurement and weaknesses in contract management.
The project was sanctioned by the Ministry of Railways in 2006-07 at an estimated cost of ₹850 crore. By May 2022, the revised cost had risen to ₹6,663.20 crore. The PAC described the increase as a sevenfold escalation, while noting that physical progress was still below 25 per cent as of March 2022.
For Nagaland, the delay has a wider significance. The State has only 11.13 km of existing broad-gauge railway lines and remains heavily dependent on road transport for much of its connectivity, the committee noted.
One of the problems identified by the PAC dates back to the project’s initial survey.
The pre-construction survey for the Dimapur-Zubza stretch was carried out by RITES at a cost of ₹7 crore. However, the committee said the survey did not adequately address the construction challenges posed by the difficult Neo-Himalayan terrain.
A fresh alignment review was subsequently undertaken by AYESA using digital terrain modelling and digital elevation modelling tools.
The PAC has now recommended that railway projects in difficult terrain undergo more robust, multi-stage geological and geotechnical investigations before construction begins.
In other words, the committee’s concern is that the terrain and construction challenges were not sufficiently understood at the planning stage.
The committee also pointed to what it described as “avoidable irregularities” in land acquisition at different stages of the project.
According to the report, these resulted in ₹141.70 crore of infructuous expenditure.
The PAC has recommended greater care in land acquisition and project preparation to avoid similar losses in future infrastructure projects.
The project was also affected by repeated changes to its alignment and problems related to tunnel design.
The PAC said these, along with persistent land acquisition challenges and other planning shortcomings, contributed to the project’s delays and cost escalation.
The committee said the Dimapur-Kohima project illustrates some of the problems encountered in implementing large railway infrastructure projects in geographically complex regions.
The delays continued during execution.
The PAC found that contractors were granted 42 Extensions of Time (EOTs) since 2015, up to December 2025.
These extensions resulted in additional price-variation costs of ₹42.38 crore, according to the report.
The committee also raised questions over procurement decisions made while the civil works were still at an early stage.
Signalling materials worth ₹11.44 crore were procured when civil works were only about 25 per cent complete, resulting in funds being blocked in materials that could not yet be put to use.
The report also noted that tunnel radio communication equipment had to be imported from the United States because the required equipment was not manufactured in India, raising further concerns about procurement planning.
The committee has recommended that the Ministry of Railways institutionalise a stronger pre-project survey system, including multi-stage, technology-assisted geological and geotechnical investigations.
It has also asked the ministry to review ongoing and future hill railway projects across the Northeast to identify similar risks and take corrective action before they lead to delays and cost escalation.
For the Dimapur-Kohima project, however, the numbers remain stark: ₹850 crore when sanctioned, ₹6,663.20 crore in revised cost by May 2022, and less than 25 per cent physical progress as of March 2022.
The PAC’s findings suggest that the problem was not simply one of construction taking longer than expected. From the initial survey and land acquisition to alignment, tunnel design, procurement and contract management, the committee has identified problems at multiple stages of the project.
Note: ₹6,663.20 crore is the revised cost cited by the PAC as of May 2022, not necessarily the latest project cost.
