Arunachal Pradesh Suspends 4 Officials in Major Frontier Highway Land Acquisition Scam Investigation

Four officials have been suspended by the Arunachal Pradesh government on Wednesday due to their alleged involvement in a major land acquisition scam connected to a highway project in East Kameng district.

During the land acquisition process for constructing the Frontier Highway road stretch from Lada to Sarli (Package I to V), covering 0.00 km to 125.55 km, significant irregularities were discovered.

The project was initiated following a requisition letter from the requiring body, with a notification issued under the RFCTLARR Act, 2013.

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.

Additionally, the state government has requested approval from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to suspend Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Nigam, who chaired the Ground Verification Board that approved the controversial award.

The government received numerous complaints during compensation disbursement. Complainants alleged that the district administration failed to conduct any ground survey to assess land and property. They also claimed that officers from forest, horticulture, agriculture, and PWD departments were excluded from the joint verification process.

The investigation revealed significant anomalies in compensation amounts. It was alleged that legitimate landowners and affected families were neither properly assessed nor awarded compensation, while excessive payments were made to non-existent assets and individuals.

Claims also indicated that several affected families had their land and properties excluded from the final award, and authorities did not address their grievances.

According to complainants, affected families received no proper notice during the survey and claims-and-objections period. Furthermore, compensation details were not disclosed to the public.

The Department of Land Management, in an order signed by Secretary AK Singh, stated that landowners' complaints were serious, alleging irregularities in framing the award without conducting a ground survey.

"The Fact-Finding Committee (FFC) was given 30 days to submit its report. Accordingly, the FFC initiated the investigation by inviting claims and objections from landowners and also visited the site," Singh explained.

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