The North Eastern Council (NEC) has released Rs 75 crore of the sanctioned Rs 188 crore to the Nagaland public works department in the first phase for upgrade of the Longleng-Tuensang road.

NEC secretary Ram Muivah announced this at a consultative meeting on rehabilitation and upgrade of Longleng-Tuensang road under the North East Road Sector Development Scheme at Sakshi in Longleng district on Monday, an official release said on Tuesday.

He said the project would begin in the first week of October on completion of the tender formalities.

The existing 3-metre-wide major district road will be extended by an additional 7m along with blacktopping and cementing, Muivah said.

He added that the NEC would maintain the road for four years after its completion.

He said the 46km road from Nokzang in Mon district to Longding in Arunachal Pradesh under North East road scheme has been completed and another 30km road from Mon to Kanubari in Arunachal Pradesh would be taken up soon.

He said road construction has been taken up in eastern Nagaland areas so that areas under Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation are connected with the other districts.

Apart from road construction, Muivah said the NEC has been implementing other projects for the development of eastern Nagaland.

Tea plantation and processing has been initiated in Longkhim and Chare and piggery and ginger processing in Hukchang village in Tuensang district.

Muivah said bringing road connectivity to far-flung areas of the Northeast is the main objective of NEC.

Nagaland minister for health and family welfare S. Pangnyu Phom, who was also present in the meeting, said unlike other projects, the Longleng-Tuensang road scheme will be 100 per cent funded by the NEC and it would not only benefit people of the two districts but also the eastern Nagaland.

He appealed to the village councils to take full responsibility of the road under their jurisdiction for maintaining quality and speedy completion.

Phom said no compensation will be paid to the landowners for upgrade of the road and appealed to all to join hands for progress.