Itanagar: The Arunachal Pradesh government has suspended four senior officials and sought disciplinary action against East Kameng Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Nigam after a probe exposed major irregularities in land compensation for the Frontier Highway project’s Lada–Sarli stretch.
According to an official statement issued on Wednesday, a fact-finding committee discovered that compensation had been granted for non-existent properties, inflated valuations, and fabricated asset assessments during the award process for the 125.55-km segment of the project between Lada and Sarli.
Those placed under suspension are Divisional Forest Officer Abhinav Kumar, District Agriculture Officer Miram Perme, District Horticulture Officer C. K. Tayum, and District Land Revenue and Settlement Officer Takam Kechak.
The state government has also recommended to the Ministry of Home Affairs that DC Nigam—who chaired the Ground Verification Board that sanctioned the questionable compensation—be suspended.
The fact-finding committee, headed by the Commissioner (Transport) and comprising senior officials from several key departments including PWD, Land Management, and Forest, was formed on August 13 following a series of complaints from affected landowners.
Its interim report, submitted on November 4, confirmed “serious omissions and commissions” by the verification team and pointed to large-scale fraudulent practices.
The panel has been granted time until November 30 to file its final report.
Locals and civil society groups have accused officials of manipulating the compensation process, excluding genuine landowners, and diverting funds to fictitious beneficiaries.
Public outrage has spilled onto social media, with widespread calls for a transparent inquiry and recovery of misused government funds.
The state’s Land Management Department, in an order signed by Secretary A. K. Singh, said the suspensions were issued in view of the “gravity of the findings” and will remain in force pending a full investigation.
The Frontier Highway, part of India’s strategic border infrastructure initiative, has repeatedly faced setbacks due to disputes over land acquisition and compensation irregularities.
