The report of rampant encroachment over the railway tracks in Doimukh area of Papum Pare district is disheartening to hear. It is alleged that, in several places, track pillars marking the land demarcated for the railways have been uprooted. This is deeply worrying and the Papum Pare district administration should step in and take strong action. Also, the people who are indulging in such kind of encroachment are not only putting their own lives at risk but also that of others. There cannot be any excuse for this kind of antisocial act.
This whole incident once again highlights the problem of illegal encroachment on government properties in Arunachal Pradesh. Today, the majority of the government plots all over the state have been encroached on by land grabbers. The failure of successive governments to deal strongly with these illegal encroachers seems to have fully emboldened them. It is time to say enough is enough. If government land is encroached upon, where will development projects be taken up in the future? Already the lack of availability of land is becoming a big issue, especially in the Itanagar Capital Region. The best example is the case of the 100-bedded government hospital for Itanagar. The state government handed over the project to the RKM Hospital after failing to locate government land for the hospital. It is a big loss as the hospital, though fully funded by the government, is coming up inside the RKMH and will be run as a joint venture.