Itanagar: The Itanagar Permanent Bench of the Gauhati High Court has directed the PWD (Highway) Department to complete the maintenance work on the Papu Nallah–Nirjuli road in Arunachal Pradesh within two months.
The order came after the department informed the court that the repair work had begun and a new firm, M/s Tama Fabrication Works, had been engaged to carry out the task.
The previous contractor, Woodhill Shivam, had failed to execute the maintenance work despite being given a one-month deadline by the court.
According to the PWD (Highway), Woodhill Shivam formally consented on October 13 to allow another agency to take over the project.
The court has instructed the department to file a status report by December 3, confirming the progress of the ongoing maintenance.
The department also apprised the court that the deadline for the completion of the flyover and highway under Package B has been extended to July 2026.
A division bench comprising Justice Kardak Ete and Justice Marli Vankung issued the directive while hearing Public Interest Litigation (PIL) No. 11/2024, filed in July by Vijay Jamoh and Doge Lona, both residents of Naharlagun. Senior advocate Dicky Panging appeared for the petitioners.
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The petitioners alleged that the Papu Nallah–Nirjuli road project had long overshot its completion deadline, causing severe inconvenience to residents of the Itanagar Capital Region.
They urged the court’s intervention to expedite the project, which, despite repeated government assurances, continues to progress at a slow pace.
