Highway work stumbles on land transfer
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, October 19 2018:
On account of the State Government's failure to transfer land acquired for expansion of Lilong-Wangjing section of Imphal-Moreh highway (NH-102) to the level of a four-lane highway to the agency concerned in time, the completed tender process for the same will be cancelled and a fresh tender held.
With loans from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Lilong-Kongkhang section of NH 102 is set to be developed to the level of a four-lane highway.
Lilong-Kongkhang section is divided into two portions namely; Lilong-Wangjing and Wangjing-Kongkhang.
Land necessary for expansion of Wangjing-Kongkhang portion has been already transferred and after Notice Inviting Tender has been issued, the selected firm has begun executing the highway expansion work.
The State Government started due process for acquisition of land required for expansion of Lilong-Wangjing highway since around a year back.
As the land acquisition process was going on.
the process for Notice Inviting Tender was initiated concurrently.
Subsequently the bids were opened and the tender was won by the joint bid of Ramky Construction and GLR.
As per the Notice Inviting Tender, an agreement was signed and a letter of acceptance was given to Ramky Construction and GLR, sources informed.
A declaration saying that there is no objection or disputes, the land acquired for highway expansion (at least by 90 per cent) should be given to the winning bidder within 90 days of giving the letter of acceptance and an appointed date should be set for starting the highway work.
But the State Government failed to give the declaration within 90 days which led to overshooting the validity period given by the Notice Inviting Tender.
As the validity of the Notice Inviting Tender had lapsed, the whole tender process which took three months would be cancelled and fresh tender held which would take another three months, said the sources.
Considering the short working season in the State, the process of Notice Inviting Tender is generally done during rainy season so that execution of works/projects can be initiated once the rainy season is over.
But holding fresh tender would take another three months and this would further delay the highway expansion work.
The State Government could not transfer the land acquired for expansion of Lilong-Wangjing section because land compensation amount could not be released in time on account of numerous complaints and objections raised by private parties, informed the sources.
Now, the path for acquisition process has been almost cleared except for a few disputed areas and an estimate has already been submitted.
Due process for releasing land compensation amount is going on, said the sources.
Yet, it is feared that holding tender again and again may give a bad impression to ADB and if ADB loses faith in the State Government, it may divert funds to other States, said the sources.