Itanagar, May 6: Serious allegations of corruption, statutory violations, and procedural lapses have surfaced in the land acquisition process for the Lada-Sarli Frontier Highway (Bomdila to Lada – Packages 1, 2, and 5) in East Kameng district.
Affected landowners from Jayang Bagang and Kesse Bagang villages (Package-5) have lodged a formal complaint with the Chief Secretary and Secretary of Land Management, Govt of Arunachal Pradesh, demanding immediate action against the District Land Revenue & Settlement Officer (DLRSO), Seppa, and others allegedly involved in a flawed compensation process.
According to the complaint, no ground property assessment was conducted for Package-5 (approximately 24 km), yet compensation was sanctioned by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) based on allegedly fabricated reports.
In Packages 1 and 2 (approx 50 km), property assessments were carried out without landowners’ knowledge, bypassing mandatory ground or joint surveys. Moreover, landowners were made to sign documents without actual surveys, while crucial records including final maps, AutoCAD area files, compensation estimates, and survey reports are missing or suspected to have been fabricated.
A letter dated April 8, 2025 from the Assistant Engineer, Seppa Highway Sub-Division, confirmed that essential documents and survey reports were absent for Package-5.
The Land Acquisition Manual 2022 and the RFCTLARR Act 2013 require transparent, consent-based processes—which the landowners claim were blatantly violated. They cite Section 85 of the RFCTLARR Act, which imposes criminal liability for such violations.
The landowners have demanded an independent enquiry into the DLRSO’s conduct, immediate transfer of DLRSO to prevent obstruction of the investigation, formation of a fact-finding committee independent of the district administration, a lawful re-survey of affected lands in Package-5, and a CBI probe into the entire land acquisition process.
“Failure to act will leave us no choice but to seek judicial remedies to protect our legal and constitutional rights,” stated the complainants, who have also forwarded copies of their complaint to the CBI, Enforcement Directorate (ED), and major media outlets.