Sabroom, Tripura, 29th of October, 2026 : Allegations of financial irregularities have surfaced over the maintenance of roadside areas along NH-08. Under normal highway maintenance procedures, the areas on both sides of the road must be kept clean and free from excessive vegetation, grass, soil deposits, and other obstructions. Such work plays a vital role in maintaining clear visibility for drivers and reducing potential road safety hazards.
However, it has been observed that the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways carries out the construction of most national highways across the country through the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL).
In Tripura, the NHIDCL constructed the NH-08 national highway from Sabroom to Agartala and was also entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining it. However, serious negligence and indifference have been observed in the maintenance of the areas along both sides of the highway, particularly along the stretch from Sabroom in South Tripura district to the Matarbari area near Udaipur in Gomati district.
Maintenance activities, including clearing bushes, cutting grass, levelling heaps of soil, filling potholes, keeping the roadside areas clean, and improving visibility for motorists, have reportedly been neglected to a significant extent.
According to reliable sources within the NHIDCL office located near Rabindra Bhavan in Agartala, the state capital, crore contract has reportedly been awarded to an out-of-state company named Minamati Enterprise for maintaining cleanliness along both sides of NH-08, from the zero point at Netaji Chowmuhani in Sabroom market to Matarbari in Udaipur. The company was reportedly assigned the responsibility of carrying out cleaning and maintenance work along both sides of the highway twice every month.
Local residents have claimed that, the roadside maintenance work undertaken by Minamati Enterprise ahead of Durga Puja was confined to a few isolated locations along NH-08. Just two days before the festival, a bulldozer was reportedly used to clear small portions of roadside land beyond the Jolaibari Steel Bridge, before Harina market, beyond Satchand market, and near Garji market in Udaipur. Residents have expressed concern that such limited operations may not adequately address the broader maintenance requirements of the highway.
Local residents have complained that they have not witnessed such roadside cleaning work even once in the past several years. The condition and quality of the cleaning work carried out by Minamati Enterprise, an out-of-state company entrusted by NHIDCL with maintaining the highway, have left residents of Sabroom astonished.
The roadside maintenance work along NH-08 has come under scrutiny following allegations of a possible financial irregularity involving Minamati Enterprise and officials associated with NHIDCL in Tripura. Complainants have questioned the utilisation of funds reportedly sanctioned by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways for maintaining the highway’s roadside areas. Allegations of collusion, misappropriation of public funds amounting to crores of rupees, and commission-related transactions have surfaced, although the claims have yet to be independently substantiated.
A socially conscious and concerned citizen of Sabroom questioned why public money collected through taxpayers’ contributions was allegedly being misused in this manner. The citizen demanded accountability over the expenditure of public funds and the quality of the maintenance work being carried out along the national highway.
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