Arunachal Pradesh Suspends 4 Officials, Seeks Nigam's Suspension in Frontier Highway Land Scam
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The Arunachal Pradesh government has taken a major step to address allegations of a land scam surrounding the Arunachal Frontier Highway project. Four senior officials, including a divisional forest officer, have been suspended, and the state government has recommended disciplinary action against East Kameng Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Nigam. According to an interim report submitted by a Fact-Finding Committee (FFC) on November 4, land compensation payments for the Lada–Sarli stretch of the highway were marred by irregularities, including the disbursement of payments for non-existent assets and grossly inflated valuations. The FFC, comprising members from various departments, has been tasked with submitting a final report by November 30. The controversy centers around the 125.55-km Lada–Sarli segment of the Frontier Highway, a strategic infrastructure corridor under the Centre's Arunachal Frontier Highway project. Several landowners have accused district authorities of bypassing mandatory public notifications and ground surveys, leading to the compensation of fake beneficiaries while leaving out legitimate landowners. The Arunachal Frontier Highway, spanning 1,748 km along the India–China border, is a flagship project aimed at bolstering road connectivity, border area development, and national security in remote regions of Arunachal Pradesh. The state government has also written to the Ministry of Home Affairs seeking Nigam's suspension, pending further investigation into the allegations.
