Ao Senden urges Nagaland govt to seek review of MoRTH decision on NH 702D
Mokokchung, September 30 (MExN): The Ao Senden has urged the Nagaland Government to press the Centre to revisit its decision to retain the existing alignment of National Highway 702D (Mokokchung-Mariani Road) and approve a two-lane highway along the entire stretch “without any bottleneck”.
In a memorandum to the Deputy Chief Minister, Planning and Transformation and National Highways, TR Zeliang submitted through the Mokokchung Deputy Commissioner, the Ao Senden said that any configuration of fewer than two lanes at any point would be unacceptable.
The road is the lifeline of Mokokchung, Zunheboto and Eastern Nagaland districts, it added.
The memorandum, signed by Ao Senden President Marsanen Imsong and General Secretary Imtipokyim, asked the State Government to persuade the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) to reconsider its July 23, 2026 decision.
Ministry meeting
According to the memorandum, minutes of a MoRTH meeting on July 23, chaired by the Director General (Road Development) and Special Secretary, approved the existing road for NH 702D.
Subsequently, the Ao Senden informed that it wrote to the official on August 19 seeking a review, contending that the approval disregarded its repeated appeals and two stakeholder meetings at the Deputy Commissioner's conference hall in Mokokchung.
The existing road was already set aside at a September 16, 2021 meeting in the chamber of the Principal Secretary, Works and Housing, which did not recommend it, or a second option, because the terrain was unfriendly and the distance would be longer, it noted.
The memorandum further disputed a statement in the July 23 minutes that the consultant had informed the ministry that “different tribes of Changki village” wanted the alignment to pass through their established settlements.
The Ao Senden said the consultant, MARC Technocrats, clarified in a September 14, 2026 letter that it had made no such statement to MoRTH or any other higher authority.
Long-pending realignment
The Ao Senden said the realignment of NH 702D has dragged on since 2021. Four options were discussed at the September 2021 meeting: the existing road; Changki X junction via Mekokla junction; Changki X junction via Mangkolemba (Old British Road/Chungliyimsen); and Longjenkong (New Camp) via Mangkolemba (Tunnel Road).
That meeting decided to recommend the third and fourth options to higher authorities. However, the Changki Village Council refused a no-objection certificate for the third option, saying it would pass through the village's bio-reserve zone.
At a July 11, 2022 meeting called by the Public Works Department (National Highways) and attended by the Ao Senden, the Ao Students' Conference and other stakeholders, all participants except the Changki Village Council recommended the fourth option.
Despite this, the Chief Engineer, PWD (National Highways), directed MARC Technocrats on February 23, 2024 to modify the realignment report and resubmit it, the memorandum said.
Stakeholders, including the Ao Senden, concerned villages, the PWD (NH), the consultant and the district administration, met again on November 20, 2024 to review the modified report. They unanimously recommended the fourth option under Section III of the modified realignment.
Unanswered representations
The organisation said it wrote to the Chief Engineer, PWD (NH), on July 12, 2024 and to the Chief Engineer (NE) on August 8, 2024 seeking approval of the fourth option. It also wrote to the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways on July 29, 2025.
The Civil Society Organisation, Mangkolemba, separately submitted a representation to the Chief Secretary on June 5, 2025. “Till date, we have received no responses from the concerned authorities,” the memorandum said.
The Ao Senden argued that forcing a two-lane configuration on the existing road between 39.620 km and 42 km would produce a stretch “no better” than the ‘Pagla Pahar’ (Tsiedukhru Range) section of NH 29 four-lane between Dimapur and Kohima, from the Chathe River Bridge (chainage 123.840) to the Kukidolong River Bridge (chainage 129).
Citing the Kerala High Court's ruling in Pauly Vadakkan vs. Corporation of Chennai & 15 Ors., it argued that national highways are built in the interest of the nation and its people, so safety and convenience must be the prime consideration.
The court had held that development is imperative but cannot come at the cost of people's convenience and lives, it pointed out.
Accordingly, the Sanen Luden, the executive committee of the Ao Senden, has resolved at its September 15 meeting that NH 702D must be a two-lane highway without a bottleneck along its entire length, it added.
The Ao Senden said it would not favour any survey option made available so far, but insisted the highway be free of bottlenecks at every point.
The memorandum said Mangkolemba is among the oldest sub-divisions in Nagaland but among the least developed in infrastructure, and a two-lane highway through it would boost the local economy. It added that no new highway project in Nagaland can avoid cutting green fields, as the entire state is forested. It urged the state government to intervene.
