Arunachal rights panel seeks better infrastructure in Chakma-Hajong settlements

The Arunachal Pradesh State Human Rights Commission (APSHRC) has recommended urgent infrastructure and flood control interventions in the Chakma and Hajong settlement areas under the State’s Changlang district.

In a statement on Monday (June 22, 2026), the rights panel said such measures were essential to ensure that the migrant populations and their descendants do not relocate beyond their designated settlements, thereby safeguarding the demographic interests of the indigenous communities of Arunachal Pradesh.

The Centre settled the largely Buddhist Chakmas and the Hindu Hajongs, displaced by the Kaptai Dam in erstwhile East Pakistan and subsequent religious persecution, in the 1960s. They have been in intermittent conflicts with the indigenous communities, who maintain that the Centre did not consult them before deciding to settle the migrants in their ancestral lands.

Bamang Tago, the APSHRC’s acting Chairperson, said that he apprised Chief Minister Pema Khandu of the need to develop infrastructure around the Chakma-Hajong settlements. He highlighted findings from a field visit undertaken to Chakma and Hajong settlements in the Diyun and Bordumsa circles of Changlang district on June 12 and 13.

The commission identified two critical issues requiring immediate government intervention–poor road connectivity and recurring floods. It observed that road infrastructure in the Chakma-Hajong settlement areas “remains severely underdeveloped” despite the region’s growing economic significance.

According to the APSHRC, improved connectivity would not only facilitate economic development in Changlang and the adjoining Namsai district but also strengthen strategic and security interests, given the presence of the 2nd Arunachal Pradesh India Reserve Battalion headquarters at Diyun. “Better roads would ensure efficient movement of security forces during emergencies and law-and-order situations,” the APSHRC said, noting the significant contribution of the region’s areca nut economy.

The Commission also drew attention to the annual damage from recurring floods. It said the Dihing River erodes cultivable land and destroys crops in Chakma and Hajong settlement areas every year.

“Such displacement has historically led to pressures for expansion beyond existing settlement areas,” the panel said, insisting that effective flood control measures would help ensure that the refugee communities continue residing within their notified settlement areas.

The migration of the refugees from their notified settlements to other parts of Arunachal Pradesh is believed to be one of the factors behind ethnic conflicts in the State. EOM