ITANAGAR, Apr 1: The People’s Party of Arunachal (PPA) has urged the state government to convene an all-party meeting to discuss the land rate issue at the earliest, stating that the issue needs thorough discussion among the stakeholders.
The matter should have been discussed and debated among the stakeholders before arriving at a final decision, PPA president Kahfa Bengia stated in a press release.
‘It is highly irrational to fix the land rate at Rs 1000, hiking it from the existing Rs 5. This amounts to undermining the strength and democratic spirit of the common people,’ he said.
Describing it as ‘a very unpopular policy decision by the state government,’ the PPA president urged all the stakeholders to fight tooth and nail to get it revised.
The PPA also took strong exception to the Centre’s move to relax the protected area permit (PAP) regime to enable foreigners to visit the border areas.
‘The PPA is pained to learn that the Centre is planning to relax the PAP merely on the pretext of giving easy access to foreign tourists. If the PAP regime has lost its relevance at all, the decision to this effect should come from the stakeholders, through their elected legislators, instead of the imposed decision from New Delhi,’ said PPA CWC chairman Kamen Ringu.
He said the BJP-led government in the state had taken some ‘highly irrational decisions’ on many issues of state importance, which he said could have far-reaching effects in the near future and damage the social and economic fabric of the state.
The party also alleged adoption of ‘pick and choose method’ in the appointment of members of the Arunachal Pradesh State Commission for Women (APSCW).
Ringu alleged that members whose names didn’t figure in the empanelled list were appointed in the Commission.
‘It has also been revealed that a non-APST candidate has also been considered to be a member of the Commission, which is a gross violation of the provisions of the constitution of the Commission,’ he said.
Ringu also said that the government should seize the opportunity of there being the same political party in the state and at the Centre to amend the ‘faulty and defective’ Arunachal Pradesh Statehood Act of 1986, in terms of giving the ownership rights on indigenous resources of the state to the native people of the state.
‘Kiren Rijiju being a bona fide Arunachalee and minister of state for home in the central government could have easily initiated the necessary formalities for the amendment of the Act in Parliament,’ he added.