The encroachment on the reserved forest land in Tezu in Lohit district is reportedly causing large-scale damage to the forest cover. This is not surprising, considering how the state government has miserably failed to protect the government-owned land across the state. Land sharks have illegally captured large portions of government land. The situation is so bad that today the government is left with no land to execute developmental projects. Especially in the capital complex, the situation is going from bad to worse.
Land grabbers have encroached on most of the government land in Itanagar, Naharlagun, Nirjuli, etc. The government has to mostly depend on private land to establish new infrastructures. This affects the implementation of projects as often land donors create troubles if they are not satisfied with the packages offered by government. The state government, particularly the capital complex administration, has failed to stop encroachment on government land. Their inability to punish the illegal land encroachers has emboldened others to follow the same path. Before it is too late, the government should properly map all land under it and take control of them. Also, it should expand the capital to nearby areas like Jully, Chimpu, Jote, Yupia, Hoj, etc, to ease congestion in the capital region. The state government should start acquiring land in these places for future use, before the land rate starts to inflate. They should work with a long-term vision.