Itanagar: Landowners in East Kameng district have levelled serious allegations of corruption, legal violations, and procedural lapses in the land acquisition process for the Lada-Sarli Frontier Highway, particularly the stretch between Bomdila and Lada covering packages 1, 2 and 5.
In a complaint submitted to the state chief secretary and the land management secretary, landowners from Jayang Bagang and Kesse Bagang villages accused the District Land Revenue & Settlement Officer (DLRSO) and other officials of manipulating records and bypassing procedures to facilitate compensation from the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH).
According to the complainants, no ground assessment was conducted on the 24-kilometre stretch under Package-5, yet the DLRSO, in alleged collusion with the deputy commissioner of East Kameng, prepared the compensation award and managed to secure fund release from MoRTH.
The landowners also alleged that property assessments in packages 1 and 2 — spanning around 50 kilometres — were conducted without their consent and without proper ground or joint surveys. In some cases, they were reportedly asked to sign documents without any actual survey being undertaken on their land.
Key records such as final maps, AutoCAD area files, compensation estimates, and survey reports were either missing or suspected to be fabricated, the complaint noted.
A letter dated April 8 by the assistant engineer of the Seppa Highway Sub-Division corroborated some of these claims, confirming the absence of essential survey reports and pointing out that no assessment of dumping yards was carried out.
The complainants said the process violated the Land Acquisition Manual, 2022, and provisions of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLARR) Act, 2013, which mandate transparency, joint surveys and accurate documentation. They also cited Section 85 of the Act, which deals with criminal liability in cases of fraud or non-compliance.
Further, the landowners questioned the credibility of the DLRSO, noting the official had earlier been accused of misappropriation of compensation funds in connection with the 2023–24 Helipad Ground “A” Extension Project in Naharlagun, as per a prior complaint submitted by advocate Aman Bagang and Raja Bagang.
Seeking redress, the landowners have demanded an independent inquiry into the DLRSO’s conduct, the officer’s immediate transfer, a lawful re-survey of lands under Package-5, and a CBI probe into the entire matter.
“Failure to act will leave us no choice but to seek judicial remedies to protect our legal and constitutional rights,” the complainants said, adding that copies of their representation have been forwarded to the CBI, Enforcement Directorate (ED), and national media outlets.
The DLRSO could not be contacted for his comments on the issue.
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