Completion gauge conversion work
Guwahati: Governor of Assam, Janaki Ballav Patnaik has expressed deep concern over inordinate delay in completion of the conversion of rail connectivity from Lumding to Silchar to broad gauge as well the slow progress of the East-West Corridor upto Silchar.
The Governor on Monday held a meeting with high level officials of Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) , the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and concerned Assam government officials at Raj Bhavan conference Hall here on Monday.
Expressing his anxiety over the inconvenience faced by the people of the state, especially those living in Dima Hasao hill district through with the railway line as well as the East West corridor passé through, the Governor wanted to know about the causes of the delay in the completion of both the ongoing projects.
The main reasons cited by the officials present were those related to allotment of land and recurrent law and order problem and frequent incidents of theft of materials and machineries especially in remote areas where round-the-clock vigil by security personnel were not possible.
The Transport Secretary of Assam suggested for seeking assistance of the Village Defense Parties (VDPs). Non-payment of compensation or payment of compensation to wrong persons, untenable demands by people of certain areas were also put forth as reasons for slow progress of work.
The Governor directed that frequent periodic joint inspections and spot visits should be conducted by the central and state level implementing bodies alon gwith the concerning district level officials of the civil administration so that all lacunas could immediately be eliminated.
The Railway officials as well as the NHAI officials present assured that all the works would be completed latest by March 2015.