Arunachal govt, Defence Ministry in tussle over infra projects

Chief Minister Kalikho Pul is planning to write a protest letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi voicing the state government's concerns on these two issues.

The Arunachal Pradesh government is locked in a tussle with the Defence Ministry over the latter’s reservations on the proposed alignment of the ambitious trans-Arunachal Highway and over the Indian Air Force’s reluctance to allow civilian aircraft to use eight Advance Landing Grounds (ALGs) coming up in the state.

According to sources, Chief Minister Kalikho Pul is planning to write a protest letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi voicing the state government’s concerns on these two issues.

What has irked the state further is that it was kept in the dark about the inauguration of an ALG in Mechuka by a senior IAF officer earlier this month.

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“The Arunachal Pradesh government is very upset over the hurdles being put up by the DGMO (Director General of Military Operations) in the way of the trans-Arunachal Highway from Dirang to Vijaynagar, which is to connect remote areas of the state close to the International Border with Myanmar and China. The proposal for the highway was passed by the state Cabinet in October 2014, and the Ministry of Home Affairs also supports the move,” said a source.

“The proposal was taken up at a meeting of the Cabinet Secretariat, and the Secretary Border Management wasasked to examine the details. The DGMO raised reservations about the alignment at certain parts of the highway, despite it being at reasonable distance from the International Border,” the source added.

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