Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, Aug 3: Demanding that the state government hand over the TAH compensation scam the CBI, the Trans-Arunachal Highway Compensation Deprived Forum (TAHCDF) Yachuli has threatened to launch a series of bandhs in Yachuli constituency in Lower Subansiri district from August 7 if its demand is not met before the deadline.
Addressing journalists at Arunachal Press Club here on Friday, TAHCDF chief advisor Bengia Tolum said they were “cheated” by the state government and now they want nothing else but a CBI inquiry into the scam.
“Even if the state government initiates reassessment and other related activities, they will not stand down on their single-point demand for a CBI inquiry,” said Tolum, adding that the entire populace of the constituency has no trust in any investigating agency other than the CBI to deliver justice.
Tolum also dared the three MLAs of Lower Subansiri district to step up and support the people’s demand for a CBI inquiry if they are not involved in the scandal.
“The three MLAs should lead us from the front instead of issuing press statements about their innocence,” said Tolum.
He also demanded that Yachuli MLA Likha Saaya explain his business relation with DLRSO Bharat Lingu, “from whom he had borrowed Rs 3 crore.”
Demanding that all politicians, officers, officials and public who are involved in the scam should be arrested immediately, Tolum said the arrest of businessman Likha Maj was “nothing but a battle of supremacy among brothers for the upcoming elections.”
Speaking on the stalling of the re-verification of the TAH stretch from Potin to Joram Top over the strip plan, Tolum claimed that “strip plan cannot be a reason for delay,” and that it is being done by the state government to protect the MLAs and officials involved. He added that they have two sets of strip plan obtained from the MoRTH office through RTI application.
Earlier, on 13 July, a meeting to discuss the re-verification process was initiated under Lower Siang deputy commissioner AK Singh, and a meeting between PWD and highway department officials was held under Singh on 25 July. However, the process reportedly got derailed after the Doimukh highway division executive engineer refused to accept the responsibility of assisting the fact-finding committee on the strip plan.
Meanwhile, the forum also criticized the three MPs from the state over their silence on the matter.
The forum informed that it would impose a 12-hour Yachuli constituency bandh on 7 August in the first phase, and a 36-hour bandh on 14-15 August and blockade of the Ziro-Kimin road from August 21 to 23 in the second and third phase, respectively, if its demand is not met.
