Arunachal orders fresh land, compensation check for Lada-Sarli stretch of Frontier Highway

Itanagar, Dec 27 (PTI) The Arunachal Pradesh government has ordered a fresh on-ground re-verification of land ownership and compensation claims linked to the Lada-Sarli stretch of the Frontier Highway project in East Kameng district, following serious irregularities flagged by a fact-finding panel.

The government had set up re-verification committees to physically examine land and assets covered under packages I to V of the project, officials at the land management department said on Saturday.

The exercise will be conducted under the direct supervision of East Kameng Deputy Commissioner, they said.

The committees have been directed to verify each land parcel falling within the approved Right of Way (RoW), strictly following the sanctioned strip plan.

Their findings will be cross-checked with compensation awards prepared earlier by a committee headed by the then deputy commissioner.

As part of the process, detailed comparative statements will be prepared, listing details such as beneficiary names, land area, standing assets, and compensation amounts calculated as per the 2022 manual rates. Any differences between the revised and earlier figures will be clearly recorded.

The entire exercise will be videographed and documented in line with the ground survey report format prescribed in the 2022 manual, the officials said adding, the committees have been asked to submit their reports within 45 days.

Separate teams have been constituted for five different stretches of the project.

Each team includes officers from land management, public works, agriculture, horticulture, fisheries and forest departments, with ADCs and SDOs heading the committees.

To ensure accuracy on the ground, the chief engineer (Highways) has been instructed to deploy officials from the Rupa highway division along with consultants to mark the Right of Way as per the approved plan.

The district administration will provide logistical support, while the planning department has been asked to release Rs 60 lakh to meet operational expenses.

For security during field verification, the home department has been requested to deploy three platoons of CRPF.

The re-verification move comes amid an ongoing probe into alleged large-scale misappropriation of compensation funds in the project.

On December 17, the Anti-Corruption Bureau arrested the former district land records and settlement officer of East Kameng in the case, following a complaint by the All Nyishi Youth Association (ANYA).

Investigators have said the inquiry is continuing, with scrutiny of financial transactions, beneficiary records, procedural lapses and the possible involvement of other officials.

Earlier, the state government had suspended four officials and recommended action against the then deputy commissioner after major lapses were detected in land acquisition and compensation for the highway stretch.

The highway project had drawn multiple complaints from landowners, including allegations of faulty surveys, exclusion of genuine beneficiaries and inflated claims for non-existent assets. PTI UPL UPL MNB