The payment of compensation to landowners for the Frontier Highway project from Lada in Bichom to Sarli in Kurung Kumey has been set in motion with the formal launch of compensation disbursement to project-affected families in East Kameng district on Saturday.
The road, which is set to connect frontier Arunachal, has an estimated investment of Rs 42,000 crore. It is one of the country’s largest road infrastructure projects.
This ambitious project has a targeted completion year of 2027.
The high-altitude highway, officially notified as National Highway 913, will originate from Mago-Thingbu in Tawang district and connect to Vijaynagar in Changlang, passing through all the border districts, including East and West Kameng, the two Dibang districts, Anjaw, and Shi-Yomi.
Running along the Indo-Tibet border, the highway will be the closest to the Line of Actual Control. Once completed, the road will serve as a major line of connectivity for the border districts.
Steps must be taken to ensure that the road remains operational in all weather conditions, especially considering the unpredictability of monsoon rains. Most roads in the state become unusable during the monsoon season due to landslides caused by poor construction practices. This must not be the case with the Frontier Highway, which will not only connect the border districts but also holds significant strategic importance.