Heavy rain delays northeast projects - some by 9 years!

NEW DELHI - Heavy rain is one of the main reasons for delay in various development projects in the northeastern region of the country - some by as long as nine years, parliament was informed Tuesday.

“The completion of some ongoing projects is delayed beyond target date of completion. The main reason for their delay includes restricted working season due to heavy and prolonged rainy season and limitation of technical and professional expertise,” Minister of Development of Northeastern Region (DoNER) B.K. Handique informed the Lok Sabha.

“The projects are implemented by the state governments,” he added.

Among some of the delayed projects in the various northeastern states - as informed by the minister - is the upgradation of a hospital in Nagaland.

The upgradation work of the Naga hospital in Kohima is running 110 months or around nine years behind schedule!

Similarly, a hostel building project in Arunachal Pradesh is far behind schedule. The work for hostels for 110 primary and middle schools is running 98 months or about eight years behind schedule.

Implementation of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan project, the government’s flagship programme to universalise elementary education, is nearly three years behind schedule in Mizoram.

In Meghalaya, the construction of an airport at Baljek in Tura is delayed by eight and half years. Work on the Guwahati University campus in Kokrajhar in Assam is delayed by six years.

In all, 439 development projects are running behind schedule in the eight states of the northeast - Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim.

“In order to expedite implementation of the delayed projects, review meetings with the state government officers are held periodically. Training programmes are organised for the officers of the northeastern states in project management and implementation,” Handique said.