UKHRUL: Contractors associated with the Shirui Heritage Development Project, along with representatives of beneficiary villages, on Saturday said ongoing legal disputes and repeated applications under the Right to Information (RTI) Act were delaying the implementation of the project. Addressing a press conference at the Ukhrul Press Club, they expressed concern that continued litigation and procedural hurdles could affect the timely execution of the multi-crore initiative and risk the lapse of centrally sanctioned funds.
The local stakeholders mentioned that continued external interference has put the mega-development initiative on the brink of disaster, raising fears that crucial capital funds could lapse.
The multi-crore project spans three key sites in Ukhrul District: Shirui Village, Jorcheng (Lunghar Village), and Bakshi Ground (Hungpung). Lauded ad a major upcoming tourism milestone for the region, the foundation stone was laid on April 17, 2026, by the Chief Minister of Manipur along with a host of state cabinet ministers.
Addessing the press, Lunghar Village Headman LW Mataisang emphasised that the primary interest of the community lies strictly in the quality and timely completion of the work.
“Since Lunghar village is also a part of the Shirui heritage project, I appealed to the authorities, contractor, and public from the beginning that those agencies who got the work order should do it with utmost quality and complete it in time,” Mataisang stated.
He explicitly clarified that he is not a sub-contractor for M/S Bhartia Infra Projects Limited (BIPL), dismissing ongoing social media rumors as malicious misinformation. Addressing the ongoing disputes, Mataisang added, “We are not authorised to look into complaint and problem regarding tender. Our interest as the villagers is for the stakeholders to focus on quality work and completing the work in time.”
Two court case was reportedly filed against the BPIL by a person Vaorei Awungshi allegedly representing M/S Nongmaithem Enterprises. According to official records from the District Rural Development Authority (DRDA) Office, Ukhrul, a firm named M/S Nongmaithem Enterprises, represented by power of attorney holder Vaorei Awungshi, was technically disqualified during the evaluation process for allegedly submitting fraudulent documents.
Related Lunghar Village Questions MLA’s Role in Shirui Heritage Project; Demands Swift Implementation
According to documents accessed by Ukhrul Times, M/S Nongmaithem Enterprises claimed credit for completing the “Construction of District Court at Senapati” project. However, official records indicated that the work remained incomplete and the final bill had not been processed. Further scrutiny of the firm’s GST filings and annual turnover allegedly revealed evidence of forgery, prompting the then Deputy Commissioner and Executive Director of DRDA, Asish Das (IAS), to issue a Show Cause Notice on May 19, 2026.
On the other hand, N. Raju Singh, the actual proprietor of M/S Nongmaithem Enterprises, subsequently wrote to the DRDA denying that he had ever authorised anyone to represent his firm in these legal proceedings, demanding strict action against Vaorei Awungshi for misrepresentation.
Despite these findings, the village authorities alleged that MLA Ram Muivah actively supported Awungshi’s attempts to halt the project by submitting formal letters to both the Governor and Chief Minister of Manipur earlier this year. Though the High Court of Manipur dismissed and withdrew the firm’s litigations on May 22, 2026, villagers expressed deep anxiety over the continuous political and legal bottlenecks.
Representatives from BIPL and the village authorities expressed heavy concern that the Right to Information (RTI) Act is being intentionally weaponized by specific individuals to freeze developmental progress.
A representative of BIPL outlined a timeline of repetitive filings aimed at creating systematic delays where in February 20, 2026, Philip Awungshi filed an initial RTI. BIPL and the department furnished the necessary data, and the matter was successfully disposed of and March 27, 2026 Kaphungshang Vashim filed another RTI. Seeking transparency, the department handed over a massive, exhaustive 400-page complete tender file. Another on May 29, 2026, Philip Awungshi filed yet another RTI, raising granular objections regarding structural designs like the vendor haat and single cottages.
“These questions should have been raised in the public meetings before the tender was finalized and work began. To raise them now that the work has started is invalid and feels like deliberate harassment,” BIPL contractor, Sunny Shimrah remarked.
The Lunghar Village Authority echoed this sentiment, stating that continuous RTIs are creating a hostile environment that stalls physical progress on the ground. Approximately 25% of the groundwork at the Jorcheng site has already been completed since construction began in March.
Because the project is funded under the central government’s Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI), it operates on a strict utilization timeline. The beneficiary villages warned that if procedural roadblocks delay physical work any further, the central funds will lapse and be recalled by the government which will be a great loss for the district as a whole.
The village authority concluded the Press conference by appealing to the public to act as monitoring eyes for work quality rather than stalling community development.
