Anti-development activities

The Trans-Arunachal Highway compen-sations scam that rocked the state has opened a can of worms. Several people, including government officials, student leader, politicians, civil society leaders, etc, have allegedly collected excess compensation. The Lower Subansiri district administration recently issued a list of names of the people who have collected excess compensation. Out of a total Rs 180 crore distributed as compensation money to acquire land for construction of the highway from Potin to Bopi, it is now alleged that around Rs 40 crore was paid to those beneficiaries who did not have proper structures along the RoW.
In some cases, the people have even drawn fake bills. All the people who have illegally collected excess amounts should immediately return the money to the government. They should be ashamed of themselves. Apart from recovering the excess amount, the state government should file criminal cases against all the people who used fraudulent means to earn compensation money. Besides causing loss to the government exchequer, these greedy people have also destroyed the TAH project. The TAH project has remained a non-starter in Lower Subansiri district due to the compensation issue. The condition of the TAH road is pathetic. But people seem more concerned about the compensation. The greed for compensation is emerging as the biggest threat against development. People have to make a choice whether they want good roads or compensation money? The genuinely affected people have the right to claim compensation, but to use development projects like the TAH to earn illegal money is against the law.