Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Friday said procedural complications under two central funding schemes led to delays in completing the Rongjeng–Mangsang–Adokgre road, a key infrastructure project linking North and East Garo Hills.
Responding to a public query during the CM Connect programme at Memilam village in North Garo Hills, Sangma explained that the earlier government had applied for the project under two different schemes of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER).
The ministry later cancelled one of the schemes after noting that the same road had been proposed in two parts under separate programmes.
The over Rs. 200-crore project was originally slated for completion by 2020. However, the cancellation of one scheme stalled progress, the chief minister said.
He added that the state government has, over the past few years, been in constant coordination with the Ministry of DoNER and the Ministry of Finance to resolve the funding issue and ensure completion of the road.
Sangma said approval has now been secured for completing the project, with funding to be provided by the World Bank.
The 44-km-long road is considered a vital link for residents of the region, affecting an estimated 50,000 people across the Kharkutta and Rongjeng constituencies.
While around 22 km of the stretch from Rongjeng to slightly beyond Nengkram is partially complete, large sections of the road remain unfinished and difficult to access.
The project was sanctioned in 2017 at an estimated cost of Rs. 210 crore, with funding support from the Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR) and the North Eastern Council (NEC).
Subsequently, the NEC withdrew from the project, taking back the Rs. 88 crore it had earmarked, which reduced the available project cost to a little over Rs. 123 crore.
Officials said that by the time the NEC pulled out, most of the existing road had already been dismantled for construction of the new alignment, compounding the impact of the funding withdrawal.
