Road Transport and Highways Ministry sanctions funds release for Arunachal highway

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has sanctioned the release of Rs.130.74 crores as compensation to be paid to tribal land owners for acquiring land for the construction of a trans-Arunachal highway from Nechiphu in the state's West Kameng District to Hoj in East Kameng District.

In a letter written to Member of Parliament for Arunachal Pradesh, Takam Sanjoy, Vijay Chhibber, Secretary, Road Transport and Highways Ministry, confirmed receipt of Sanjoy's letter of March 20, 2013, requesting the expediting of the sanction of a land compensation package for the proposed highway.

Chhibber said that sanction of the compensatory funds in lieu of the highway project had been issued on April 12, 2013 for Rs.130.74 crores.

In earlier letters to Chhiber, Sanjoy had said that he along with Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Nabam Tuki had had several meetings with the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways and central government functionaries on this issue, and now, this had borne the desired results.

Sanjoy said that he and Chief Minister Tuki had taken up the case of land compensation for tribal landowners in response to a memorandum submitted at a public meeting on their maiden visit at Leporiang on March 17, 2013.

He said that the chief minister and himself had promised to get the compensation package sanctioned at the earliest and urged upon the public to allow the construction of the trans-Arunachal Highway from Nechiphu to Hoj in anticipation of the compensation to be sanctioned by Government of India.

He revealed that during his discussions with Chhibber, he had stressed on the point that the project had already been delayed for two years after the announcement of the Prime Minister's Trans-Arunachal Highway Package.

He said that after discussions with Secretary Chhibber, he had personally urged the Arunachal Pradesh Government and the District Administration to expedite payment of the compensation to the people without further delay, and to enable the department for acquisition of land so that construction work on the double-lane trans-Arunachal Highway from Nechiphu to Hoj takes off with immediate effect.

Sanjoy also said that it is worth mentioning that for the first time in the history the UPA-I and UPA-II, land compensation payments are being made to the tribal people.