Arunachal govt suspends four officials over highway land compensation scam

Itanagar, Nov 12 (PTI) The Arunachal Pradesh government has suspended four officers and recommended disciplinary action against East Kameng deputy commissioner after a fact-finding committee unearthed "large-scale irregularities" in land compensation for the Lada–Sarli portion of the Frontier Highway project.

The investigation found that non-existent assets were assessed for compensation, wrongful evaluations were made, and fraudulent assessments were carried out during the award process for land acquisition from Lada to Sarli (package I to V) of the ambitious project, covering a distance of 125.55 km, an official statement said here on Wednesday.

The suspended officials include Divisional Forest Officer Abhinav Kumar, District Agriculture Officer Miram Perme, District Horticulture Officer C K Tayum, and District Land Revenue & Settlement Officer Takam Kechak.

The government has also recommended to the Ministry of Home Affairs for the suspension of the deputy commissioner Himanshu Nigam, who chaired the Ground Verification Board that approved the controversial award.

The fact-finding committee (FFC) headed by the Commissioner (Transport) and comprising senior officials from PWD, Land Management, Forest, Agriculture, Horticulture, and Fisheries departments, was constituted on August 13 this year, following complaints from affected landowners.

Many alleged that no proper ground survey was carried out, legitimate claimants were excluded, and disproportionate compensation was paid to non-existent beneficiaries.

The FFC's interim report, submitted on November 4, confirmed serious omissions and commissions by the verification team and pointed to gross anomalies and fraudulent assessment practices.

The committee has been granted time until November 30 to submit its final report.

Several local organisations and landowners have accused the administration of betraying public trust and "robbing genuine victims".

Social media has been flooded with demands for a transparent probe and strict punitive action against all those involved. Civil society groups have urged the government to ensure the recovery of public money disbursed illegally.

The land management department, in its order signed by Secretary A K Singh, stated that, considering the gravity of the findings, the officials have been placed under immediate suspension pending final investigation.

The Frontier Highway project, part of India's ambitious border infrastructure plan, has been facing hurdles due to land disputes and compensation controversies. PTI UPL UPL RG