Rampant Looting and Negligence in Tripura’s National Highways, NHIDCL Under Fire for Poor Quality and Zero Accountability by TLA Chief Whip

By Our Correspondent

Agartala, September 3, 2025

Despite Tripura Chief Minister’s repeated appeals to the Centre and the National Highways Authority for urgent improvement of the state’s roads and expediting stalled projects, the condition of National Highways in Tripura continues to remain grim. The execution of works by the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) has not only been lethargic but is also mired in serious allegations of corruption, poor quality, and rampant looting in collaboration with outside contractors. These allegations were made by none other than the MLA and Chief Whip of the Tripura Legislative Assembly, Ms. Kalyani Ray. She threatened to commit suicide if the NHIDCL contractor did not execute the Teliamura Hospital road immediately. Although the contractor agency’s claims were different, the fact remains that the National Highway project works are not being executed as per quality and national standards.

Moreover, not a single national highway project in the state has been completed on time. Even projects declared completed, such as Agartala to Sabroom and some stretches of Kamalpur to Khowai to Agartala, are in extremely poor condition, with the quality of work falling far below acceptable standards. The lack of maintenance is glaring

potholes, broken stretches, and waterlogging have made these routes highly accident-prone, and the number of road accidents is rising alarmingly every day.

What adds insult to injury is NHIDCL’s complete lack of transparency. The local NHIDCL office in Agartala, housed at UDD Bhavan, neither maintains a grievance redressal system nor engages with the local media. Journalists attempting to meet officials are flatly denied access. Their official website contact numbers are non-functional, and shockingly, not a single road project site in Tripura displays mandatory information boards, keeping the public in the dark about project details.

Insiders allege that NHIDCL’s local authorities are hand-in-glove with outside contractors, facilitating large-scale misappropriation of funds while delivering substandard road infrastructure. Even though Tripura’s Chief Minister has pressed the Union Government several times, the National Highway authorities in Delhi remain silent, leaving the people of the state to suffer.

Meanwhile, the Union Government has announced plans for a 100-acre Logistics Park on the Eastern Bypass near Agartala, and funds are being allocated for the restoration of roads damaged by recent floods. However, citizens remain deeply skeptical about whether these new projects will escape the same fate of poor quality and endless delays.

NHIDCL’s Managing Director, Dr. Krishan Kumar, who recently inspected NH-108B (Agartala–Khowai), NH-208 (Khowai–Kailashahar), NH-208A (Kailashahar–Kurti), and NH-08 (Churaibari–Agartala), has promised reports and accountability measures. But Tripura’s experience with NHIDCL suggests that inspections rarely translate into results on the ground.

Unless the Centre intervenes strongly and holds NHIDCL and its local officers and contractors accountable, Tripura’s national highways will continue to be death traps, marked by corruption, negligence, and betrayal of public trust.

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