Kohima: A Rs 2.87 crore botanical garden in Jalukie sits idle. Government auditors now claim the project site is an unlikely case of being "unnatural." The Comptroller and Auditor General of India report tabled on September 3 reveals the facility sits on land owned by the project contractor. It has remained shut for two years.
The North Eastern Council approved the project in April 2017. Construction started that August with a two-year deadline. Workers did not finish until July 2022. By then, the state had paid the full budget. The Horticulture Department bypassed standard procedures. It signed a secret agreement with the contractor without finance department approval.
This deal allowed the contractor to keep land rights and income from the park. This directly violated government guidelines. The contractor built a pool and a guest house instead of the planned laboratory and park. The department later tried to hide these changes by submitting an unapproved, revised plan in May 2022.
Auditors blasted the move as an attempt to grant undue favor to the contractor. Officials claim they have now secured a donation deed for the site. However, the CAG rejected this defense. The deed lacks basic dimensions and legal proof of ownership. The facility remains a ghost town today.
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