Families in Arunachal village become crorepatis after Army acquires land

An Indian soldier stands under the gate to a war memorial near the India-China trade route at Nathu-La, 55 km (34 miles) north of Gangtok, capital of India's northeastern state of Sikkim, June 27, 2006, The Nathu-La mountain pass, known as the old silk route, will be opened on July 6 by India and China for trade. The trade route passes through the Himalayas at about 14,500 feet above sea level and it was closed in 1962, during the India-China war. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri (INDIA) - GM1DSXQMKIAA

People from a village in Arunachal Pradesh have become crorepatis after the Defence Ministry compensated them for acquiring 200 acres of their land. The 31 families living in Bomja village of Tawang district have now received cheques worth Rs 40.8 crore from the Ministry.

As per a report in The Hindu, Chief Minister Pema Khandu handed over cheques on Wednesday to heads of all the 31 families of the village making Bomja, inhibited by Buddhist Monpas, according to some, the richest village in the country. The development comes five years after the army acquired the lands of the villagers to establish key location plan units of its Tawang garrison.

While two families, who had to part way with large tracts of their lands received Rs 6.73 crore and Rs 2.45 crore respectively, the remaining 29 families got Rs 1.09 crore each.  “More such compensation for land acquired for defence purposes is being worked out with the Centre,” Mr Khandu was quoted as saying in the report. In addition, he also thanked Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for clearing the backlog that made the compensation process much smoother.

The land acquisition is part of the drive by the army to beef up its presence in the Chinese border, particularly the Tawang region, which China claims to be its territory. The payment of dues by the army is also important as the process aids in improving the relationship between the people and the army.

“The Army and local people need each other to survive at 10,000-17,000 feet on the eastern Himalayas. We hope adequate compensation would further strengthen the bond we enjoy in this part of the country,” an officer of the Army’s 190 Mountain Brigade was quoted as saying in the report.

Acquisition of land with delays in compensation have earlier been a big issue in many areas. Last year, the Ministry released Rs 54 crore to over 150 families in three villages as compensation for land acquisitions that were made over fifty years ago.