The Affected Landowners’ Union of the Kiphire to Meluri district has opposed the Short Term Maintenance Contract (STMC) sanctioned for NH-202 and demanded that the government proceed with the long-pending two-laning project and release pending compensation to affected landowners.
In an ultimatum addressed to the Deputy Commissioners and Chairmen of the District Land Settlement Boards of Kiphire and Meluri, the union said the decision to opt for temporary repairs instead of advancing the two-laning project had caused “widespread frustration and anxiety” among the affected communities.
The union said landowners had unanimously consented to the NH-202 two-laning project in 2014, citing their support for long-term socio-economic development in the region.
It also stated that departmental teams had conducted field and technical surveys three or four times over the past decade, with the latest survey completed on July 12, 2025. The union said each survey had renewed the landowners’ expectation that construction of the project would begin.
According to the union, then Minister in-charge of Work and Housing TR Zeliang had assured landowners during his official visit to Kiphire on November 12, 2024, that fair compensation would be disbursed to facilitate the immediate rollout of the two-laning project.
The union said replacing the proposed two-laning project with an STMC amounted to a breach of trust and failed to address the community’s pressing infrastructure needs.
The union has demanded that no short-term maintenance contract or temporary repair work be allowed along the Kiphire to Akhegow stretch. It also demanded that the government and concerned department immediately proceed with the NH-202 two-laning project and release all pending land compensation to affected landowners.
The union has given the authorities 15 days from the date of issuance of the ultimatum to address its demands, warning that failure to comply would compel it to initiate “stronger democratic and public actions”.
