ITANAGAR, Nov 12: The state government has constituted a three-member committee, headed by WRD Minister Mama Natung, to work out a solution to the Tawang church issue. The other members are MLAs Nyamar Karbak and Nyato Dukam.
As per the order issued by the political department, the team will assess the ground situation and hold detailed discussions with all the stakeholders.
The committee will suggest ways and means to find a solution to the current impasse in order to ensure peace and harmony in the state.
“The committee will devise suitable mechanism for peaceful implementation of the arrived solution. The committee will submit its findings within six months,” the order read.
Natung and Karbak are considered to be close aides of Chief Minister Pema Khandu. The controversy broke out last month when the Tawang district administration stopped the construction of the Christian Revival church (CRC) there and arrested its pastor.
The CRC’s members claim that the church was being constructed on a plot of land provided by the government, and that they have been performing church service in a temporary structure since 1999 on the same plot. It is said that they had applied for land allotment many a time but it is yet to be approved.
The Arunachal Christian Forum had recently urged the state government to resolve the issue at the earliest, and had staged a peaceful protest at IG Park here after the state government failed to respond to its plea.