ITANAGAR: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu said on Wednesday that all those involved in the alleged land compensation scam related to the Lada-Sarli stretch of the ambitious Frontier Highway Project will be dealt with strictly and will not be spared.
Responding to a zero-hour discussion raised by lone Congress MLA Kumar Waii in the assembly, the Chief Minister said that the bank accounts of several people involved are being investigated.
“Those who have fraudulently taken money in the name of compensation will have to return the amount to the government treasury. They will not be spared, and strict action will be taken against them,” Khandu said.
He said that the state government had constituted a fact-finding committee on August 30 last year, which submitted its report on November 5.
“Based on the inquiry, the government suspended five officials and constituted three committees to re-verify the genuine landowners for the highway stretch being constructed under five packages,” he said, adding that the re-verification process started on January 14 and the report will be submitted soon.
Acknowledging that there had been both overestimation and underestimation in land compensation, Khandu said that the discrepancies would be rectified.
He also said that the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has constituted an inter-ministerial committee to investigate the matter, while the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has initiated a preliminary inquiry at its level.
The Chief Minister said that the 1,840-kilometer-long Frontier Highway, which stretches along the Indo-Bhutan and Indo-Myanmar borders from Bomdila in West Kameng district to Vijaynagar in Changlang district, was sanctioned on March 19, 2018, after persistent efforts by the state government. He said that out of the total length, 586 kilometers will be constructed by private agencies, 536 kilometers by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), and the remaining 718 kilometers by the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL). Khandu said the matter was handed over to the State Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), which found that the compensation paid to the affected landowners was inflated.
He said, “The ACB has arrested four people in this connection and seized Rs 11.5 crore from their bank accounts. Many more people are involved in this scam.” Read more
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Acknowledging that corruption still exists in the state, the Chief Minister said it can only be eradicated through collective efforts.
He said the Special Investigation Cell (SIC), constituted in 2005, arrested 142 officers between 2016 and 2025 after the BJP came to power, while only about 20 arrests were made between 2005 and 2015.
He further added, “Our vision to make Arunachal Pradesh corruption-free is clear. We are working as ‘Team Arunachal’ and strengthening the ACB to deal with corruption strictly.”
The Lada-Sarli stretch of the highway remains at the center of controversy amid allegations of a multi-crore land compensation scam, triggering public outrage and political criticism.
Civil society groups, activists, and local landowners have alleged that the compensation meant for genuine landowners was diverted through inflated prices and fraudulent claims, with the total alleged irregularities amounting to approximately Rs 130 crore for the 125.55-kilometer stretch.
