When government money meant to compensate ordinary landowners ends up as someone else’s asset, the Enforcement Directorate tends to knock — hard.
The Enforcement Directorate has provisionally seized two immovable properties worth Rs 2.69 crore belonging to a man named Nyakpo Yangfo, in connection with what investigators are calling serious irregularities in land acquisition compensation linked to the Lada-Sarli Frontier Highway Project in Arunachal Pradesh. The action, carried out under the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, signals that federal agencies are paying very close attention to how highway compensation funds have been handled in the state.
What Was Seized — and Where
The ED’s Itanagar Sub-Zonal Office moved against two specific land parcels, both sitting in the Balijan Circle of Papum Pare district. The first is a 7,950 square metre plot at Taraso village, pegged at Rs 1.59 crore. The second is a 3,440 square metre piece of land at Chessa village — and this one comes with two fish ponds — valued at Rs 1.10 crore. Together, they add up to Rs 2.69 crore in attached assets. The combination of agricultural-style land and fish ponds makes this case stand out from a typical property dispute.
The Highway Project at the Centre of It All
The Lada-Sarli Frontier Highway Project is a strategically important road project cutting through Arunachal Pradesh. Land has to be acquired for these projects, and when land is taken, compensation is supposed to flow to the rightful owners — fairly and transparently. What the ED is investigating here relates to alleged irregularities specifically under Package-IV and Package-V of this highway project. The allegation, at its core, is that the compensation assessment and disbursement process was manipulated. Who benefited, and by how much, is what investigators are piecing together.
PMLA and What Comes Next
The provisional attachment is not the final word. Under PMLA provisions, these properties now go before a competent adjudicating authority, which will either confirm or revoke the attachment. That process can take time, but for Nyakpo Yangfo, the assets are effectively frozen for now. It’s worth noting that ED investigations of this nature often expand — one attachment frequently leads investigators toward a larger network of beneficiaries.
A Bigger Message for Arunachal Pradesh
This is not a small-town story. Frontier highway projects carry national security implications, they channel enormous public funds, and they touch the lives of local communities who are promised fair compensation for their land. When that system is allegedly gamed, it isn’t just a financial crime — it’s a betrayal of communities living at India’s sensitive borders.
The ED’s move on Independence Day sends a message that’s hard to miss: no project is too strategic, and no location too remote, to escape scrutiny.
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