Arunachal: Congress flags Rs 130-cr land compensation scam, seeks probe

OUR CORRESPONDENT

ITANAGAR: The Congress in Arunachal Pradesh on Monday flagged an alleged Rs 130-crore land compensation scam, linked to the Lada–Sarli stretch of the strategically significant Arunachal Frontier Highway project, accusing the BJP-led governments at the Centre and the state of failing to ensure transparency and accountability.

Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Bosiram Siram during a press conference at the party’s office here, termed the case one of the biggest land compensation scams in the state’s history and demanded immediate corrective action.

Siram said the scale of the alleged irregularities, ranging from manipulation of land records and fraudulent claims to inflated compensation and misuse of public funds, points to a ‘well-orchestrated scam’ rather than an administrative lapse.

Such a magnitude of financial wrongdoing, he said, could not have occurred without political patronage or wilful negligence at higher levels.

The APCC chief demanded that the state government issue a comprehensive white paper on the case, detailing the land acquisition process, verification of records, identification of beneficiaries, disbursal of compensation, and the roles of officials and political executives. He said the document should be made public within a month to restore public trust. Siram further sought the resignation of union minister Kiren Rijiju, Chief Minister Pema Khandu, and state Home Minister Mama Natung on moral grounds, alleging direct or indirect responsibility and failure to prevent or act against the alleged scam. Rejecting what he described as attempts to place the blame solely on bureaucrats, Siram said government officers’ function under the authority of the political executive and cannot be made scapegoats.

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