Even as the controversy surrounding Lada–Sarli refuses to die down, shocking statistics are emerging. The Siang district unit of the All Adi Youth Association (AAYA) has alleged fraudulent disbursement of compensation amounting to over Rs 100 crore to bogus beneficiaries during the construction and improvement of the road from Ditte-Dimme to Migging in Siang district.
The AAYA claims that compensation amounting to Rs 147,93,37,723 was fraudulently released to several bogus, ineligible and nonexistent beneficiaries during the land and asset acquisition process for the road project, which is an important road in the district. According to the association, which has filed a complaint with the authorities, the nature of irregularities included inclusion of bogus and ineligible beneficiaries in the compensation list, mismatch between actual land and asset owners and beneficiaries, payment of compensation for nonexistent assets, and apparent criminal conspiracy and collusion between certain government officials and private individuals.
These allegations sound very similar to those made in the Lada–Sarli case. Authorities need to investigate the issue thoroughly to rule out discrepancies, if any. The state must also ensure that there is no scope for repeated instances of land compensation scams, as such cases delay projects and severely dent whatever remains of the reputation of a corruption-ridden bureaucracy.