Staff Reporter 

ITANAGAR, Oct 15: In a major revelation that has sent shockwaves through the state, social activist Sol Dodum has accused officials and influential individuals of embezzling nearly `130 crore from the Arunachal Pradesh Frontier Highway Project spanning Lada to Sarli, calling for an immediate vigilance inquiry into the alleged scam.
Addressing media persons at the Arunachal Press Club on Wednesday, Dodum demanded that the state government depute a high-level vigilance team to conduct reverification of Packages 1, 3, and 4 of the project. He further called for the immediate arrest of DLRSO and East Kameng Deputy Commissioner accusing them of being “directly involved” in the misappropriation of land compensation funds.
Dodum warned that if the government failed to take prompt action, he would launch a “massive and aggressive public movement” to expose what he described as a deep-rooted nexus of corruption.
“The irregularities we discovered with the reassessment team are just the tip of the iceberg,” Dodum stated. “A thorough on-ground verification will unearth massive discrepancies and misuse of public money.”
The activist alleged that the said DLRSO had admitted to his involvement in the scam during a meeting at the DC’s office, yet no arrests has been made. He also claimed that several landowners and even the DC himself had acknowledged receiving illegal compensation, but the government has maintained “a suspicious silence.”
Dodum went on to question the role of higher authorities, asking whether the state government itself was complicit in shielding the accused. He also criticised local MLAs for remaining silent despite what he termed “massive revelations” regarding the highway project.
Citing instances of blatant irregularities, Dodum claimed that bills were raised for constructing a futsal ground deep inside forested terrain with no access to roads or electricity. Under Packages 1 and 2 in Bameng Circle, he alleged that individuals with no valid land ownership documents received compensation, while nearly 50 genuine landowners were excluded.
In another shocking claim, Dodum said a landowner under Package 4 had surrendered all his property in exchange for promised compensation worth crores of rupees, but received only `30 lakh, while the rest was allegedly diverted among ministers, MLAs, and officials.
Accusing several officers of manipulating land records and measurements, he said the entire compensation process was “riddled with irregularities and lacked transparency.”
“The system has been hijacked for personal gain at the expense of rightful beneficiaries. Such corruption cannot be allowed to continue,” Dodum declared.
He also dismissed social media allegations that he had received ` 50,000 from a forest department official, calling the claim “baseless and fabricated” meant to discredit his movement. The DLRSO could not be reached for his comments on the allegations.

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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