“There is total failure and collapse of the state administration. It is very clear the government is totally ignoring the situation” stated K. Meghachandra Singh, President of MPCC during a press conference at Ukhrul Headquarters on Monday.
The team led by President of MPCC, K. Meghachandra Singh had visited Ukhrul and conducted an inspection of the ongoing construction work of the Imphal-Ukhrul Road (NH 202) and Ukhrul -Tadubi Road (NH 102A) -to assess the current status, pace and quality of execution.
K. Meghachandra Singh stated that, “the two highways are vital connecting roads of Manipur. The construction work started more than six years back but till now, there is no significant progress. The obvious lack of fairness, transparency and accountability can be seen during the inspection. In this regard, the two packages from Yaingangpokpi to Finch Corner are not executed properly. The contract is being awarded to the contractors with the lowest tender rate and neither the government of Manipur nor the concerned ministry is giving any attention to it. Further, the NHIDCL is also not giving enough attention to it. This, besides the long delay, there is also blatant absence of transparency. The SQMS has totally failed. Every package must have an Engineering Cell to monitor the quality but that is also not there.
“There are 50 subcontractors along the stretch of Yaingangpokpi to Finch Corner. We would like to question the intention of awarding the contract to so many sub-contractors. This is a big question because the contractors themselves are unable to deliver. The failure of the work is largely due to nepotism, only the agency of NHIDCL or the concerned ministry are being considered. The alignment in the original DPR is not being followed. I have a copy of the Google Earth mapping. It amounts to looting of public fund. And this has resulted in the total failure of the construction whether it is the quality, supervision, transparency or accountability. The materials used for construction are of very low quality. The highway between Imphal to Jessami could have benefitted the people of Ukhrul immensely providing good connectivity from rural to urban settings but we may lose this service. If we do not utilise the sanctioned fund efficiently, it is possible that we may not get such funding in the future.
“There is no clear sanctioned amount for Package 3 (Finch Corner to Ukhrul). Then, there is Package 4 (Ukhrul to Choithar) amounting to Rs. 16.37 crores which is yet to show quality work. Now, we have a Package 5 (Choithar to Marem) for Rs. 221.23 crores which also has not shown any quality work except for HVS.”
K. Meghachandra Singh further continued that, “the highway is not just the lifeline for the people of Ukhrul but also for the entire Manipur. Looking at the quality of the work, it is difficult to trust in the construction. The fund is being withdrawn every month without any monitoring. This is a well organised looting of the public fund. How can the people of Ukhrul be okay with this?
“Now, where is the government authority? Where is the PWD authority of the state government? Both the state government and the ministry have failed. Therefore, the government must look into this at the earliest. We have a President Rule which is directly controlled by the government of India, and their indifferent attitude is uncalled for.”
With regards to Ukhrul-Tadubi road (NH 102A), a stretch of 96 kilometers, K. Meghachandra Singh stated that, ‘ the Highway is in desperate and hopeless conditions. We are looking at total lack of fairness, transparency, accountability and quality without any SQMS. Because of the poor quality of construction, every time there is rain, there is always landslided and we cannot commute. Then, what is the use of constructing the so-called National Highway?”
He blamed that the random and haphazard construction of roads without maintaining quality only shows that the state government is not there for the people of Ukhrul and the people of Manipur.
“The MPCC started cross checking of the lapses and progress of the different packages in 2022. We took into account the quality and construction of the road. But, after May 3, 2023 due to the conflict, we could not reach out. With the improvement in law and order, we have started reaching out to different places in Ukhrul District. After taking into account all the details, we will appraise the concerned ministry including the Prime Minister of India of the low quality work and other failures including the SQMS. The construction work is not being carried out according to the original DPR. We are going to raise this at the Central level and if needed, we will submit a memorandum to the Honourable Governor of Manipur. The idea is not to criticize the BJP government but the way they are mis-handling the construction word. It is being taken up under the BJP government run through the President Rule. We are compelled to state that the BJP government has failed to construct the road. It is not a political drama. In fact, the reality is that the people of Ukhrul and the people of Manipur want early completion of the road” added K. Meghachandra Singh.
“Our concern is for the people of Ukhrul. The Congress party always stands for justice and for the people of Ukhrul and the entire people of Manipur. We stand for the secular and the unity of Manipur. And that is why we are here to inspect the different packages covering Imphal to Jessami and Ukhrul to Tadubi. We will expose the unfair practices of the agencies and NHIDCL for the greater interest of the people of Ukhrul. We will not be quiet. We will do what we can. This is a huge scam. We are learning after travelling by road from Imphal to Ukhrul. We will dig out more details of the work as we continue our journey and inspect the work. Definitely, we will come out with some action. We will fight for justice for the people of Ukhrul and the entire people of Manipur. We will come out with our plan of actions. We will raise this issue to the concerned authority, and if required, we will take the matter to the court or even protest because it is hampering the well being of the people of Ukhrul. This is equal to looting the public fund by an organised team. We will discuss with the leaders of the Congress party and accordingly, we will take up some action” stated K. Meghachandra Singh.
The endless wait for completion of Yaingangpokpi-Jessami (National Highway 202) and Ukhrul -Tadubi (National Highway 102A) still haunts the people of Ukhrul.
The current status, challenges, and earnest expectations concerning the highway expansion project from Yaingangpokpi to Jessami (National Highway 202) initiated on 1 July 2020 are many and behind schedule. Out of a total of 8 packages being awarded along National Highway 202, only 1 package (Jessami – Akash Bridge) is completed. Out of 166.37km total length only 14.72km is completed, the remaining 151.65km is yet to be completed.
The press conference was also in attended by Wungpam Raikhan, Congress Leader of 45-Chinga AC, Shangam Malukso, President of 45-Chingai Block Congress Committee and senior leaders and members of MPCC.
