Kohima on July 24: The Centre told Parliament that 14 National Highway projects in Nagaland have missed their original completion deadlines, placing the state among the poorest performers in the Northeast for road delivery. The information was provided in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said the delayed projects were sanctioned during the last five financial years and exclude proposals for termination or foreclosure. Nagaland had the second-highest number of delayed schemes in the region, behind Assam with 23, followed by Manipur with 13, Sikkim four, Tripura four, Arunachal three, Meghalaya three and Mizoram two.

Gadkari attributed delays to land acquisition bottlenecks, pending statutory clearances, utility shifting, encroachment removal, law and order issues, poor contractor performance and force majeure such as the COVID-19 pandemic. He said National Highway projects are normally scheduled for completion within two to three years but timelines are extended when delays occur beyond contractors' control.

The minister clarified delayed execution does not necessarily cause cost overruns; where contractors are not at fault contractual provisions allow price escalation, while contractor-caused delays attract penalties and prevent extra costs falling on the government. The ministry imposed penalties of around Rs 27.32 billion (bn) over the past three financial years and has recovered nearly Rs seven point eight billion (bn) so far through enhanced monitoring.

The disclosure comes amid concern over centrally funded projects in Nagaland; earlier this year the state refunded Rs 320 mn due to implementation delays and the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region foreclosed 12 projects worth over Rs one bn because of prolonged delays. The latest data is likely to intensify calls for stronger project monitoring, quicker clearances and better coordination to prevent further delays and safeguard central funding for infrastructure projects.