State Probes Uncover Bogus Claims and Survey Lapses in Lada-Sarli Project, Sparking Calls for Ironclad Transparency in Infrastructure Payouts
Arunachal Pradesh’s administration has swung the hammer of accountability, suspending four high-ranking district officers and pushing for the ouster of the East Kameng Deputy Commissioner amid explosive revelations of widespread misconduct in disbursing land compensation for the critical Lada-Sarli Frontier Highway. This high-stakes crackdown follows a damning interim probe that exposed a web of fabricated assessments and overlooked legitimate claims, shaking trust in the state’s push for border connectivity.
The sprawling 125.55 km highway stretch, a lifeline for remote frontier areas in East Kameng, kicked off land acquisition under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLARR) Act, 2013. A Ground Verification Board, steered by Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Nigam, IAS, and comprising experts from forest, agriculture, and revenue wings, was tasked with ensuring equitable evaluations. But the April-approved compensation awards soon unraveled under a barrage of grievances from affected landowners.
Petitioners raised red flags over skipped field inspections, wildly inconsistent payouts, and blatant favoritism that sidelined real property owners while funneling inflated sums to phantom assets. These outcries prompted the government to form a Fact-Finding Committee (FFC) on August 13, led by the Commissioner (Transport) and drawing in specialists from public works, forestry, horticulture, fisheries, and land management sectors.
The FFC’s preliminary findings, delivered on November 4, laid bare a litany of foul play: sham valuations, bogus inclusions of non-existent holdings, and glaring oversights—plus outright manipulations—by the on-ground survey squad. Acting decisively, authorities slapped immediate suspensions on:
- Abhinav Kumar, IFS, Divisional Forest Officer, Seppa
- Miram Perme, District Agriculture Officer, Seppa
- C.K. Tayum, District Horticulture Officer
- Takam Kechak, District Land Revenue & Settlement Officer
In a bold escalation, the state has forwarded a suspension recommendation for Nigam to the Ministry of Home Affairs, given his pivotal role as board chair. The FFC now has until November 30 to table its exhaustive final dossier, with officials vowing zero mercy for any further lapses unearthed.
A.K. Singh, IAS, Secretary of the Department of Land Management, affirmed in the official communiqué: “Upholding integrity in public ventures is paramount—we’ll pursue rigorous repercussions to deter such betrayals and rebuild faith in our systems.” This purge not only spotlights the perils of unchecked discretion in mega-projects but also reinforces Arunachal’s drive for spotless governance, where every rupee serves the greater good and border builders reap fair rewards.
Edited by: keshav pathak
Relevant Tags
Arunachal Officials Suspension, Lada-Sarli Highway Fraud, Land Compensation Irregularities, East Kameng Probe, RFCTLARR Act Violations, Fact-Finding Committee Arunachal, Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Nigam, Forest Officer Abhinav Kumar, Infrastructure Corruption Northeast, Transparent Land Acquisition Arunachal
Hashtags
#ArunachalSuspensions #LadaSarliScam #LandFraudProbe #EastKamengOfficials #HighwayCompensation #RFCTLARRAct #ArunachalGovernance #NortheastIntegrity #BorderDevelopment #JusticeForLandowners
