Arunachal people may get compensation for land acquired during 1962 war

Reports suggest that after a wait of 55 years, several thousand residents in Arunachal Pradesh may get an unexpected surprise in the form of compensation for land acquired by the Army following the 1962 war with China. The central and Arunachal Pradesh governments are working out the compensation, which may be to the tune of Rs 3,000 crore.

Minister of state for defence Subhash Bhamre, minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju, chief minister Pema Khandu and senior officials of the central and state governments discussed the issue at an hour-long meeting held here yesterday.

Rijiju, who hails from Arunachal Pradesh, said the meeting was to settle the issue of land acquired for various defence establishments in the frontier state following the 1962 war with China.

"Although the people of Arunachal Pradesh can be branded as ultra patriotic Indians but of late a sense of resentment has been brewing among them due to non-payment of compensation for huge areas of land occupied by the Army," Rijiju told PTI.

Reportedly, Bhamre asked officials in his ministry and the Army to fast-track all the pending issues by coordinating with each other and the state government. Rijiju called for resolving all issues in a time-bound manner; and asked the officials, the time they will take in clearing all the issues that came up for discussion during the meeting.