ITANAGAR, 8 Jan: Land management minister Balo Raja underlined the importance of timely land acquisition for all major projects being implemented in the state on a time-bound basis.
Addressing a coordination meeting of the land management department at the Civil Secretariat on Wednesday, Raja emphasized that every development activity requires sufficient and non-encumbered land to achieve the targets set. He urged all the district land revenue and settlement officers (DLRSOs) to handle such cases personally rather than merely assigning them to subordinate officials.
The focus of the meeting was on issues related to land acquisition for various flagship projects of both the centre and state governments, as well as other centrally sponsored schemes such as national highways, frontier highways, the Trans-Arunachal Highway, hydroelectric projects, Indo-China border roads, power transmission substations, defense establishments, and more.
The minister also stressed the need for proper demarcation of land including, landholders and existing structures, to prevent disputes after the award and disbursement of land compensation. “This will ensure that there is no room for disputes at a later stage,” he said.
Raja called for a renewed ‘Team Land Management’ spirit, emphasizing transparency for the benefit of the state and its people. He advocated for the utmost care in identifying plots of land for acquisitions or allotments to protect government properties.
Itanagar MLA Techi Kasso, who is also the advisor to the minister of land management, advised departmental officials to be thorough while assessing compensation amounts to avoid legal ramifications for themselves and the department.
Earlier, land management secretary A.K. Singh, through a detailed PowerPoint presentation, explained the process of land acquisitions under various Acts, Rules, and Manuals. The secretary also highlighted the importance of countersigning strip plans by the DLRSO and the concerned deputy commissioners (DCs) to avoid legal complications at later stages.
He stressed the need for timely intervention in legal cases to save time and ensure the timely completion of all development activities. All DLRSOs and other officials were also instructed to ensure that corrective measures are taken before disbursement of compensation and awards.
During the meeting, the DLRSOs submitted memoranda regarding various issues such as pay anomalies and career progression, which were also discussed. The minister assured the officials that all possible measures would be taken to fulfill their genuine demands.
LM director Mamta Riba emphasized the need for training the field staff involved in survey work and requested the minister to take up the matter with the state PF & I department for adequate allocation of funds for this purpose.
The senior financial and accounts officer of the department presented the details of revenue generated under various accounts and deposited to the state exchequer so far, according to an official release.
