Chakma and Hajong refugees can’t settle permanently in Arunachal Pradesh, says Union Minister Kiren Rijiju

A CORRESPONDENT

ITANAGAR: Union Law and Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju said that a very clear statement has already been sent by the Union Home Minister Amit Shah that the Chakma and Hajong refugees can’t settle permanently in the state of Arunachal Pradesh. Rijiju said this while speaking to the reporters on the sideline of the celebration of the 196th birth anniversary of Indian social activist Jyotiba Phule at the state BJP office today.

Rijiju told the reporters that Chakma and Hajong refugees have been informed about the re-settlement of the community, and accordingly, have been appealed to refrain from demanding permanent citizenship of the state. He said that both communities were settled in the state without the permission and knowledge of the locals of the state. They were settled as refugees, which were merely countable numbers. However, in recent years the numbers have risen high with illegal acts of forest land encroachment.

“Our state is protected an area, the people from other states can settle temporally but can’t avail permanent citizenship. Likewise, the Chakma & Hajong are refugees, but they are also human beings. Therefore, talks are in progress to amicably resolve the matter by re-settling them in any other place in the country,” he said.

Rijiju also informed that one more judge from the state will be soon appointed in the Gauhati high court, Itanagar bench. As of now, there are 2 judges, and with the inclusion of one more, there will be 3 permanent judges in upcoming days from the state. He said the increase in the number of judges from the state came following talks with the Chief Justice of India and the Gauhati High Court. The total strength of Judges in Gauhati HC was earlier 24, which has been increased to 30 now.

“Our state has merely a thousand pending cases. If the number increases in the future, the government will surely look into the matter of having its own HC in the state. Moreover, around Rs. 70 crore fund has been sanctioned recently for the infrastructure development of district court, session courts, and lower judiciary court,” he said, adding that the concerned department should ensure proper usage of funds.

Rijiju also appealed to the public state to discourage the trend of land compensation, which ultimately hampers the quality of roads. He said the genuine owner will surely get the land compensation but there should not be unethical means to avail more than the actual compensation.

“Also, the repeated claim over Arunachal Pradesh by China is a matter to be ignored. The state is an integral part of India, and the claim by the Chinese counterpart can’t change the fact,” he said while responding to the recent renaming of 11 places of the state by China.