Phek District Nagaland Contractors’ & Suppliers’ Union Officials with Ratna Company Officials during a spot verification. (Photo Courtesy: PDNCSU)
‘Summons’ contractor firm GM for deliberation
Kohima, May 5 (MExN): The Phek District Nagaland Contractors’ & Suppliers’ Union (PDNCSU) has expressed concern over the pace of work on the ongoing two-lane Kohima-Jessami Package II road project, alleging inadequate deployment of machinery and workforce at the construction site.
The PDNCSU, accordingly, has ‘summoned’ the General Manager of Ratna Company, the contractor for Package II, to appear before the union by May 15 to discuss the matter.
A press release issued by the PDNCSU indicated that the assessment and the subsequent action were based on spot verification carried out by the union in the recent past.
The union informed that it carried out a spot verification of the project on March 14 and found limited machinery and workforce at the site, which it described as unsatisfactory for a project of such scale.
Only a few excavators, dumper trucks, road rollers, and other equipment were found operational during the inspection, it maintained, adding that all of them were hired and not owned by the company.
As per the union, this indicates that the firm is “not fit to pursue this mega project and will never be in a position to complete it,” claiming that despite being involved in the project for many years, there has been no significant progress due to its inefficiency and lack of qualification.
In this connection, it called upon the Government to look into the matter immediately, terminate the work allotted to the company, and blacklist it for inefficiency.
It also claimed that repeated appeals by civil society organisations have not resulted in significant improvement in the pace of work.
According to the union, it held a meeting with company officials, including the Project Manager, at the firm’s base camp near Sedzü Bridge, during which it sought clarity on the project timeline and expressed dissatisfaction over the progress.
Following the meeting, the company reportedly assured the union that it would complete the blacktopping of a 600-metre stretch between Kikruma village and North Kikruma by April 15, and an agreement was signed to that effect.
However, during a follow-up inspection on April 25, the union alleged that the company had failed to meet the agreed target.
Another meeting was subsequently held with the Project Manager and Structural Engineer of the company, following which PDNCSU said it has summoned the General Manager of Ratna Company to appear before the union by May 15 to discuss the matter.
The union stated that if the company fails to respond within the stipulated time, it may take its own “course of action,” with the company held responsible for any untoward incidents.
