ES Reporter 

ITANAGAR, May 24: The Tato-II Hydro Electric Project Fair Compensation Demand Committee (THEPFCDC) claimed significant misappropriation in land compensation disbursement by the Shi-Yomi district administration for the 700 MW Tato-II hydro-electric project executed by NEEPCO.
The committee reported that the district administration received a total of Rs. 219.18 crores from NEEPCO to distribute among 96 project-affected families.
The alleged misappropriation came to light when the Deputy Commissioner's office failed to provide detailed information on the compensation disbursement to each family, including the final compensation amounts credited or disbursed to the beneficiaries, stated THEPFCDC Chairman Kiran Rinya.
While addressing the media at the press club, Rinya stated  that the compensation amount was deposited in a joint account held by the Deputy Commissioner (DC) and the District Land Revenue & Settlement Officer (DLR&SO). However, the office has not provided the expenditure details to the affected families.
Rinya further mentioned that they had submitted an RTI request seeking information on compensation payments to beneficiaries. However, the DC has not provided the information, claiming that the original documents are not available. Furthermore, NEEPCO directed the committee to seek information from the district administration, as it is considered a third party in the matter.
“If the original documents related to land compensation are not available, how was it possible for the authorities to carry out the compensation disbursement process?” Rinya questioned, noting that the project-affected families received the amount through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
The payments were made so quickly that the affected families were unaware of the final award and compensation bills against the land acquisition. Consequently, some families did not utilize any of the compensation received due to these dubious transactions.
Rinya also emphasized that the project-affected families have the right to know the details of the compensation disbursement. The villagers firmly believe there is misappropriation in the payments, as evidenced by the DC’s refusal to provide any requested information.
Additionally, the DC and the Shi-Yomi district land management have violated the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation, and Resettlement Act of 2013.
The committee also accused the DC of arbitrarily forcing landowners to sign pre-drafted No Objection Certificates (NOCs) for the hydro project construction on non-judicial stamp paper without any briefing.
The committee clarified that the public is not against development. However, without producing every document related to land acquisition and compensation, they will pursue the case legally in court, said Rinya.
The land, measuring 1,422,500 square meters, was acquired by the authorities in 2011 in the Shi Yomi district, formerly part of West Siang district.

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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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