LONGDING, Jul 9: The Longding District Delimitation Appraisal Committee (LDDAC) has requested the Delimitation Commission for Parliamentary and State Assembly of Arunachal Pradesh to allocate four seats of legislative assembly member for Longding district in the ongoing delimitation process.
Members of the committee had on 7 July called on the Tirap DC and submitted their objections and suggestions regarding the proposed delimitation process.
The LDDAC members informed the DC-cum-DEO that despite the fact that Longding has more population than Tirap, Longding is currently represented by only three MLAs while Tirap has four MLAs in the state legislative assembly.
The members claimed that the people of Longding district “have been deprived as per the Peoples Representation Act, 1950.”
The committee also stated: “Of the 8 administrative circles in Longding district, viz, Kanubari, Launu, Longding, Chubam, Pumao, Pongchau, Longchan and Wakka, a few villages like Nginu, Lower Nginu, Ngissa, Kaimoi, Khogla, Longkai of Longchan circle and Wakka village and Wakka headquarters have been added with the villages of Tirap district, which is against Rule V (i) of the methodology for allocation of assembly constituencies to district and delimitation of assembly constituencies.
“Wakka and Longchan circles have a population of 11,216 people as per the 2011 census, which is quite sufficient for a MLA constituency. As per the 2001 census, the population is 9,246 people, where the case can be considered as per Rule III (iv) of the guidelines and methodology for delimitation of assembly and parliamentary constituencies,” it said.
“It is also seen that four villages of Wakka circle, namely, Chongkhaw, Chop, Kampong and Khanu, are separated from Wakka circle and added to the Pongchao constituency. In fact, these villages are very near to the Wakka headquarters. Segregation of the villages from one Wakka administrative circle to two different assembly constituencies contradict the methodology and guidelines stated in V(v), (vi) & (vii) of delimitation of assembly and parliamentary constituencies,” the committee added.
“Advertently the four villages of Wakka circle, viz, Chongkhaw, Chop, Kampong and Khanu, are also included in Pongchau ST assembly constituency, where the distance between those villages and Pongchau is more than 100 kms traversing through two assembly constituencies,” it said.
