202 acres Sumdorong Chu flash point to give India strategic edge over China

NEW DELHI

India gained the much-disputed 202 acres of strategic land in Arunachal’s Sumdorong Chu flashpoint, which China planned to posses since 1986.

Falling under Tawang district, Sumdorong Chu river flows from the confluence of Namka Chu and Nyamjang Chu with 202-acre of grassland near Lungro La Pass.

The Chinese army made many attempts to capture the area since 1986, when Indira Gandhi was back in power, since India’s war with China.

In due course of time, the Chinese built posts and occupied the Lungro grazing ground in 1986 and also built a helipad.

Subsequently, the Indian and Chinese troops have remained face to face for eight months. The two sides acknowledge the fact that Sumdorong Chu is of strategic importance.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, on October 12, laid the foundation stone for digging Nechifu tunnel, which is a crucial road leading to Tawang to make it easy for the army to reach the border.

The Defence Ministry is said to have approached the Department of Land Resources under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The Ministry of Rural Development has said that the Ministry of Defence has all the rights to acquire land under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013.

This permission is said to be backing up the Defence ministry’s right over the pastures of Bomdir village.