Kohima | The Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has raised serious concerns over the escalating cost and slow progress of the Dimapur-Kohima railway line project, noting that the estimated expenditure has increased from Rs 850 crore at the time of its sanction in 2006-07 to Rs 6,663.20 crore as of May 2022.

The observations were made in the PAC’s report titled Construction of Dimapur-Kohima New Line Project: Northeast Frontier Railway, which was tabled in Parliament on Tuesday.

The committee noted that despite the sevenfold increase in project cost, less than one-fourth of the physical work had been completed by March 2022, pointing to significant shortcomings in project planning, execution and financial oversight.

According to the report, the project reflects recurring challenges affecting railway infrastructure development in difficult terrain, including inadequate preliminary surveys, repeated route changes, land acquisition delays, flawed design decisions, weak contract management and lack of accountability.

The PAC observed that the combination of soaring costs and limited physical progress indicated serious deficiencies in project governance and financial monitoring.

It also highlighted Nagaland’s limited railway infrastructure, noting that the state has only 11.13 km of broad-gauge railway track and continues to depend heavily on road transport because of inadequate rail connectivity.

The committee recalled that the Ministry of Railways had approved the Dimapur-Kohima railway project in 2006-07 to improve all-weather connectivity to the state. However, it said the project has since been delayed by repeated alignment modifications, land acquisition hurdles, tunnel design issues, premature procurement and weaknesses in contract administration.

These factors, the PAC said, have not only escalated costs but also delayed the economic and social benefits the railway line was expected to deliver.

The report further noted that the initial survey of the Dimapur-Zubza section, carried out by M/s RITES at a cost of Rs 7 crore, failed to adequately assess the engineering challenges posed by the Neo-Himalayan terrain.

Subsequently, the Railways engaged M/s AYESA to undertake a fresh alignment study using Digital Terrain Modelling (DTM) and Digital Elevation Modelling (DEM) technologies.

To prevent similar issues in future projects, the committee recommended that the Ministry of Railways adopt a comprehensive pre-project survey mechanism incorporating detailed geological and geotechnical investigations supported by advanced technology. It also called for a review of ongoing and proposed hill railway projects across the Northeast to identify and mitigate comparable risks.

The PAC also highlighted irregularities in land acquisition, stating that procedural lapses resulted in avoidable expenditure of Rs 141.70 crore.