Assam Tops Northeast in Much-Delayed National Highway Projects

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: It reflects poorly on the road development agencies that as many as 87 National Highway (NH) projects in the NE, including those in Assam, have gone beyond the originally scheduled completion date. As of mid-August 2026, Assam's projects in the 8 NE states have experienced the highest time overruns.

The tardy progress of work is the main reason for the non-completion of the projects. However, land acquisition and other local issues have caused delays in some projects. The primary cause of concern is that the projects in Assam have become a never-ending story. The non-completion of the Jorhat-Dibrugarh stretch of NH is a prime example of such time overruns in the state.

As per available information, there are 26 delayed NH projects in Assam, which have extended way beyond the originally scheduled completion date. Manipur has the second-highest number of delayed NH projects in the NE, with 18 such works, after Assam. The situation regarding delayed NH projects in the other NE states is Arunachal Pradesh 5, Meghalaya 3, Mizoram 4, Nagaland 16, Sikkim 9 and Tripura 6 projects.

Some of the delayed projects in Assam are (i) the construction of the balance work of 4-laning of the section from Jhanji to Demow of NH-37 (Old), (ii) the construction of the two-lane Jorhat-Majuli bridge project over the River Brahmaputra (length 8.25 km), (iii) 4-laning of Dhanehari Lailapur/Vairengte on Silchar-Vairengte Sairang road in Assam under Bharatmala Pariyojna on EPC mode, and (iv) the construction of a new 2-lane bridge with its approaches across the River Brahmaputra on NH-17 at Jogighopa, Assam, on EPC mode.

After the monsoon, the working season in Assam starts in October and lasts until April. With the working season starting soon, it is up to the road construction agencies to ensure that the work on delayed projects is speeded up to provide better roads for the people of Assam to drive on. NHIDCL, NHAI and the Assam PWD (NH Division) need to get their act together and conduct strict monitoring of the progress of the much-delayed works.

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