Yet another important road project – the Tamen-Dollungmukh NEC road, worth Rs 139.62 crore – has not been completed, even though a major chunk of the fund has reportedly been released. A panchayat leader of Teririjo in Kamle district has lodged an FIR with the SIC, alleging corruption, and stating that the contractor executed the work till 2014 only, and later left the road project incomplete. The allegation levelled by the panchayat leader is very serious and the truth needs to be told. The Tamen-Dollungmukh NEC road is a very critical road project which, once completed, will benefit the people of Lower Subansiri, Kamle, and Upper Subansiri districts.
This road will shorten the travelling distance between Itanagar and Daporijo. In particular, the people of Dullungmukh in Kamle district will immensely benefit from it. At present, the people of Dullungmukh have to pass through Assam to reach other parts of Arunachal. Whenever there is bandh call in Assam, or if there is tension between the two states, the people of Dullungmukh get cut off from the rest of the state. The Tamen-Dollungmukh road was seen as a major hope. The project’s failure is a big setback. The state government needs to act and study where things went wrong. The people responsible for failing to complete this project on time need to be held responsible. The misuse of the fund cannot be tolerated and there should be action in this regard.