In March 2024, Nagaland's government approved Rs 430.77 crore for a 395 km road that has been under construction since 2011, with some stretches never having had earth cut. By April 2026, the government had denied the approval existed, admitted it had, and then explained that the Rs 430 crore had 'become infructuous' — approved, never sanctioned, and no longer traceable.
The Nagaland Foothills Road — a 395 km highway connecting Tizit in Mon district to Khelma in Peren district — has been under construction since 2011. After 13 years, some sections have not yet had their first earth cut. In March 2024, the state government granted administrative approval of Rs 430.77 crore for the road's second phase. When the Nagaland Foothills Road Coordination Committee produced the official government letter and demanded accountability in April 2026, the Public Works Department (Roads & Bridges) first denied any knowledge of the sanction — later describing its denial as 'inadvertent' — before issuing a corrigendum confirming the approval existed but had 'become infructuous.' Infructuous means the approval was technically granted, never formally sanctioned, and is now null and void: Rs 430 crore approved by the state, unknown in whereabouts, for a road that has been under construction longer than many of its contractors' careers. The committee deferred its planned agitation, declared a 'watchdog role,' and warned it would resume protests if the government did not publicly explain what became of the funds.