[Bengia Ajum]
ITANAGAR, 8 May: Itanagar Capital Region Deputy Commissioner Talo Potom has written to the principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF), informing that the land possession certificates (LPC) issued to individuals whose plots fall within the Itanagar Wildlife Sanctuary and the Durpong reserve forest have been cancelled.
An order to this effect had been issued by Potom in February 2022.
“All such allotments and LPCs issued by this office since its inception stand cancelled as per Order No DC/M/LPC-207/15, dated 27 February, 2022,” the DC stated in his letter to the PCCF, dated 5 May,2025.
The DC further requested the PCCF to treat all allotments and LPCs that fall under the Itanagar Wildlife Sanctuary and the Durpong reserve forest -whether issued knowingly or unknowingly – as null and void, and to take appropriate action as per the relevant laws and rules.
Speaking to this daily, Potom said that the decision to cancel the LPCs and allotments was based on the areas notified for the establishment of the capital in 1978.
“Thousands of LPCs and allotments have been cancelled. The records have been shared with the department of environment, forest and climate change, as it is the custodian of the Itanagar Wildlife Sanctuary and the Durpong reserve forest,” said Potom.
Meanwhile, the DC’s decision to cancel LPCs and allotments has deeply angered local residents. On Thursday, members of the Aboriginal Tribal Inhabitant Villagers of the Itanagar Capital Region (ATIVICR) submitted a memorandum to the chief minister, seeking immediate reversal of the cancellation order.
Briefing the media, Techi Nera, a native of Ganga village and a member of the ATIVICR, said people are deeply upset, and urged the chief minister to intervene.
“This order by the DC is arbitrary and we strongly oppose it. We appeal to the government to cancel it immediately. If not, we will launch a democratic movement to seek justice,” said Nera.
He claimed that the order would devalue land in the Itanagar Capital Region.
“We can’t take loans from banks using our land, as the LPCs and allotments are being cancelled. Land value has dropped, and development activities will be hampered,” he added.
He also questioned why successive governments have failed to resolve the issue.
“It’s been 52 years since Itanagar was declared the state capital. Why has the government failed to address this issue properly? We’ve attended several meetings regarding this issue with the authorities concerned over the years, yet there is no resolution,” he said.
Businessman Tadar Babin, based in Naharlagun, also questioned the DC’s move to abruptly cancel LPCs and allotments.
“These LPCs and allotments were approved by the government. Some landholders have possessed their land for over 30 to 40 years, constructed buildings following due procedures, and paid the prescribed land revenues since the 1980s or earlier, as required by the government. Now, they’re suddenly being told that they’re no longer officially recognised as landholders. This is a strange move,” said Babin.
He also criticised the selective cancellation of LPCs and allotments.
“The areas mentioned in the order contain numerous government structures which should also be included in the list. Our LPC was cancelled even though the land was officially allotted to us and the government has been receiving land revenues from us through officially sealed and signed challans,” Babin added.
