Despite huge funds Nagaland faced with infrastructure gap

THE PRESENT STATE OF A NATIONAL HIGHWAY ROAD IN BETWEEN THE COMMERCIAL HUB OF DIMAPUR AND STATE CAPITAL KOHIMA. (FILE PHOTO/CAISII MAO)

 

Infrastructural development in Nagaland began with a big challenge. When Nagaland attained statehood in 1963, there was barely any infrastructure standing. According to a government report, in the mid eighties when development was picking up pace, only 13.96 % of the villages in the State had pucca roads; 59 villages had protected water supply; 18% of villages had access to healthcare facilities; literacy rate was 20.40 % and more than half of the population had no access to toilet. The report showed remarkable growth of over 30% the following two decades; even taking the human development index of Nagaland to the fourth rank in the country. However, despite the high spending on public infrastructure in all these years, Nagaland still remains at the seventh bottom in terms of socio-economic infrastructural development in the country.

Road connectivity, power, water supply and schools were the infrastructural reference points made by the government when the planning process started. In 1996, a High Level Commission for Transforming North East estimated that Rs. 11,000 crore was needed to develop Nagaland alone. Large amounts of money were pumped in for development but the State still remains by and large underdeveloped. At present, the Centre contributes Rs 1,750 crore annually, roughly 70 % of the Nagaland state budget. All of this money meant for development- for building roads, schools, hospitals and basic infrastructure. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that the government cannot achieve its target if does not invest wisely in infrastructure.

Nagaland is in dire need for physical resources like better roads, communication networks, electricity, education, irrigation projects and drinking water facilities for its increasing population. But the biggest impediment for development is today the lack of good road and transport communication. Trade and commerce, education, healthcare and agriculture, all have suffered badly due to poor road communications. Nagaland has 1,094.5 km of state roads and 365.3 km of National Highway roads lying in pathetic condition. Centrally sponsored schemes like the PMGSY, MGNEGA and National Highway projects have not been implemented successfully. There is no transparency in the use of funds.

The State has not benefitted from Local Area Development Funds (LADF) either. Less than 10% of constituencies in Nagaland have benefitted from the LADF and Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLAD). Central audit reports have shown huge loopholes in the implementation of LADF and MPLAD in the State but successive governments have done little to prevent the improper use of crores of public money in the name of development.

An NRHM official speaks about the ‘pathetic’ roads in Mon district, especially in Tobu and Tizit areas.  She said the villages located in the remote areas are cut off almost throughout the year due to which health workers cannot reach out to the people living over there. The health workers have to either wait for roads to clear or hire a motor vehicle which is borne at additional cost. “Unless we have the basic infrastructure in place, we cannot move forward,” the officer said.  But the question is will it improve and when? Most of the funds procured for development are used to repair existing infrastructure, casting doubt over the quality of assets the State is producing. Every monsoon, roads get washed away, bridges collapse and communications cut off. But the only thing that is done is repair.
Rural infrastructure also remains by and large neglected. Due to lack of infrastructure, people have made valiant efforts (mainly through MGNEGA and agri-link projects) to solve their problems but with limited success. Inadequate levels of investments have led to multiple problems making the gap wider between the rural and urban sector. The State needs badly to eradicate these economic inequalities among the people and roadblocks on the path of building infrastructure; because development cannot be real if it does not benefit the people.