‘Remove loopholes in Arunachal statehood act’

Itanagar: Former Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Gegong Apang urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to correct the ‘existing lacunae’ in the Arunachal Pradesh Statehood Act, 1986/87.
“Many lacunae in the statehood act have not been addressed despite many representations submitted on behalf of the state,” the former CM said.
Apang said many provisions of the Nagaland Statehood Act have not been extended to Arunachal, especially regarding ownership of land and its resources.“The Centre should at least consider bringing Arunachal on the same level as Nagaland. This will boost the morale of the people of the state,” he said.
He added, unlike in any other northeastern state, the Arunachal governor has been bestowed with special powers that undermine the power of the citizen. “There has been an increase in law and order problems here and growing lack of transparency in utilization of funds sanctioned by the Centre,” Apang said.