Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, Mar 28: The Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) reiterated its displeasure with the Centre’s move to relax the Protected Area Permit (PAP) system to enable foreign tourists to access border areas of Arunachal Pradesh and labelled Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju and Chief Minister Pema Khandu as “anti-Arunachal” and “anti-people” for seeking the same.
This came after MoS Rijiju, on Saturday tweeted that the Home Ministry has decided to relax the PAP.
Rijiju was responding to a tweet by Chief Minister Pema Khandu, who had posted pictures of Shungetser Lake at Tawang, describing it as “paradise on earth”.
“Yesterday I took a review meeting in Home Ministry & decided to relax Protected Area Permit regime of this paradise on earth. People must see such amazing places which also will create job opportunity & revenue for the State,” Rijiju said in a tweet.
Addressing reporters here at the Press Club on Wednesday, APCC vice president Minkir Lollen said that relaxation in the PAP would threaten the already sensitive state of Arunachal and make it vulnerable to outside threats.
Also citing apprehension that this would lead to negative repercussion on other Northeast states in the long run, the APCC termed Prime Minister Narendra Modi “anti-Northeast”.
The APCC also condemned the exorbitant revised land rates and asked how the state government expects its citizens to pay revenue of Rs 1000 (commercial) or Rs 600 (residential) from the earlier rate of Rs 5 and Rs 2 per sq mt.
“Earlier, late CM Kalikho Pul had established a rate, according to which, citizens received compensation for government-related work or construction at Rs 11 per sq mt. How can the government expect to pay Rs 11 to its citizens and expect the same citizens to pay Rs 1000 for their own land?” “, said Tamchi Tahar, APCC general secretary (Adm) HQ.
On the poor law and order management of the police and inaction of the government, the APCC sought that the present government step down on moral grounds.
Citing repeated mob vigilantism, the APCC asked where the police were when alleged accused were paraded naked around the town in Yingkiong and Daporijo.
“Anger of the relatives is understandable, but the police remained silent spectators and did not intercept”, said Lollen, adding that human rights were violated when they let two men die in the heart of the town at Tezu.
It also expressed displeasure with other issues, such as the Money Lending (Regulation) Bill 2018 and the untied funds.
The APCC sought that the reported sanctioning of the untied fund to a tune of Rs 22741.43 lakhs for various developmental projects for the financial year 2017-18 be stopped.
It also called for revising the Money Lending (Regulation) Bill 2018 before implementing it.
“The government should not turn the local money lending system into a banking institution. It should consider the indigenous population and set proper terms and conditions before implementing the bill”, added Tahar.
