The Nagaland Foothills Road Co-ordination Committee (NFHRCC) has called on tribal hohos to adhere to their collective decision to boycott the April 7 meeting convened by the Government of Nagaland on issues related to the National Highways Act, 1956 and land acquisition for the Nagaland Foothills Road.
In a press release issued on April 4, the NFHRCC reminded the “respected Tribal HOHOs to steadfastly hold the decisions reaffirmed on March 30, 2026” regarding non-participation in the April 7 meeting unless the NFHRCC is invited. It warned that any hoho violating the collective decision would be viewed as engaging in “anti-developmental and backstabbing activity” against the Foothills Road project, which it described as a “Nagaland Historical People’s Road project.”
The NFHRCC noted that Dimapur-based tribal hohos had earlier issued an ultimatum to the state government on February 21, setting March 31 as the deadline. “Consequently, the Government had fixed the meeting on 31st March 2026, thereby inviting all the Apex Tribal HOHOs. However, for the reason best known to them the 31st March meeting has been postponed to 7th April 2026,” the NFHRCC said.
Subsequently, apex tribal Hohos and Dimapur-based hohos resolved not to attend the rescheduled meeting on April 7 if the NFHRCC was not invited.
“However, till date there is no indication from the Government for inviting the NFHRCC to the April 7 meeting,” the statement said, adding that there has also been no development regarding the issuance of the second phase work order. In this context, the Committee stated that the hohos and the NFHRCC are “well prepared to go for any forms of protest to safeguard the people’s project.”
On the project timeline, the NFHRCC pointed out that the original contract agreement with M/S JK Construction and M/S Chabou & Co required completion by December 2025, which was later extended to March 2026 by Minister G Kaito Aye “on the pretext of communication gap” and subsequently to April 30, 2026. It termed the repeated extensions “unreasonable and unjustified,” stating that work orders were meant for execution, not delays.
The NFHRCC asserted that if the firms fail to complete the work within the extended deadline, they should be blacklisted and the project reassigned to more capable contractors. It added that “Nagas cannot afford to remain underdeveloped under the clutches of a few privileged.”
The NFHRCC also expressed concern over reported shortfalls in essential infrastructure components such as hume pipes and slab culverts, which it said point to anomalies in the Detailed Project Report. It urged the concerned department to address these issues seriously in future projects.
Further, the NFHRCC called on the NPWD (Roads and Bridges) to immediately supply steel structures in Baghty and Peren divisions to facilitate timely completion of works. It also raised concerns over what it described as a lack of transparency regarding the SASCI loan component of the project.
“Lack of transparency by the present Opposition-less Government vis-a-vis SASCI loan component on the Nagaland Foothills Road Project is unfortunately distasteful to the common people of Nagaland in general,” the NFHRCC stated.
The NFHRCC informed all stakeholders that a joint consultative meeting of Dimapur-based tribal hohos and selected core team members, including representatives from each tribal body, the Naga Council Dimapur, will be held on Monday, April 6 at 10:00 am at its base office in Kher Mahal, Dimapur.