[ Indu Chukhu ]
ITANAGAR, 10 Mar: The non-completion of Package B of NH 415, which connects major parts of the capital region, was brought up in the ongoing Legislative Assembly, where Chief Minister Pema Khandu expressed doubt that the construction agency would meet the deadline.
Koloriang MLA Pani Taram raised the subject of the Trans-Arunachal Highway and the progress of the flyover in Naharlagun during Zero Hour on Monday.
Package B of NH 415, from Papu Nallah to Jully trijunction, is 11.306 kms long. Khandu, who also holds the PWD portfolio, informed the House that he himself is “fed up with that part (Papu Nallah-Nirjuli) of the road,” adding that “the public sentiment is understandable.”
Khandu said that almost all of the Trans-Arunachal Highway work is complete, except for Package B of NH 415.
According to a report received on 28 February, the physical progress of the road is 39.30% and the financial progress is 27.25%.
The work was awarded to M/s Woodhill Shivam, a construction company from Bhubaneshwar (Odisha), and the deadline of the completion of the work under the package was 8 December last year.
Woodhill Shivam has re-submitted their work plan and sought another 18 months’ extension. The current deadline to complete Package B from Papu Nallah-Nirjuli, including the flyover, is May 2026.
Saying that, at this rate and with the number of human resource, the construction company would not be able to finish the work even in 2026, Khandu said that he would convene another meeting with the department and would also try to convince the MoRTH to “terminate Woodhill Shivam and replace it with another firm.”
Taram questioned why the executing agency’s contract has not yet been terminated.
He said also that M/s SPS Technocrat Private Limited, the “sublet contractor from TKE, which is currently receiving 35 percent share in Package B construction, should follow the rule as per agreement and the government should give it a deadline for completion.”
“Right from Naharlagun bridge to Yupia trijunction, besides private parties developing their land, no work is being done by the road executing agency,” he said.
He further dwelt on the deplorable condition of the Nirjuli-Naharlagun road, and said that Woodhill Shivam “has failed in doing the maintenance work, whereas the contract minutes of the undertaking made by Woodhill Shivam states that maintenance work would be there.”
“I bring this issue on the floor of the House because this is a matter of public importance and needs the government’s attention,” Taram said.
He also referred to the death of a person who died after falling into a pit along the under-construction flyover in Naharlagun on 11 December, 2024, and said that it was only after the incident that the pits were covered and barricades put up.
“We have nothing to do with the sub-contractors, but M/s Shivam Woodwill, being the prime contractor, should either work dedicatedly or it should be terminated. It should also ensure adequate manpower with proper maintenance of the road, followed by completion of the work before the deadline,” Taram said.
