Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, 31 Aug: The Arunachal Against Corruption (AAC) on Thursday urged the state government to recommend to the Centre to amend Article 371 (H) of the Constitution, vis-? -vis Arunachal Pradesh.
Article 371 (H) confers upon the governor a special provision that empowers him to use it in the event of any law and order crisis in the state.
In a press conference, AAC convener Birendra Tallong outlined the differences in the constitutional provisions for Arunachal under Article 371 (H) and the provisions given to other Northeast states like Nagaland and Mizoram.
Tallong argued that the state’s leadership, especially the chief minister and the three parliamentarians, should be aware of the constitutional provision in the article and should demand that the Centre amend it.
The organisation also sought shifting of the regional office of the union road transport & highways ministry in Tezpur (Assam), as well as the NEEPCO office in Shillong (Meghalaya), to Itanagar “for better convenience of the people of Arunachal.”
It also sought relocation of the branch offices of the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate to Itanagar, “so that the investigation agencies can effectively contain corruption in the state.”
The AAC also highlighted the technical glitches being faced by the people in acquiring land possession certificates in Itanagar, as the Itanagar Capital Region (ICR) falls under a reserve forest area. It requested the government to initiate steps for de-reservation of the wildlife sanctuary in the ICR.
The organisation also questioned the government over “dealing with the Chakma-Hajong refugee issue ineffectively,” and sought “earliest resolution of the decades-long issue.”
Further, condemning the government for “misusing the Arunachal Pradesh Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act or APUAPA against activists to silence them,” the AAC demanded scrapping of the Act at the earliest.
On the signing of MoUs for 12 stalled hydropower projects in the state, the AAC condemned the “haphazard move” of the government and urged it to ensure that all scientific and environmental aspects are considered minutely before handing over the projects to the public sector undertakings.
The organisation said that it would again launch democratic movements against the government if the latter fails to address the AAC’s demands.
In August 2022, the AAC had launched a “foot march” to Delhi to campaign against Chief Minister Pema Khandu, demanding a CBI inquiry into various projects under his government.
However, even after a yearlong campaign in Delhi, it miserably failed to create any ripple in the BJP government in the state.
