Assam Rifles to shift base from Aizawl to Zokhawsang: Amit Shah

Aizawl: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said that Assam Rifles (AR) headquarters in Aizawl would be shifted to the designated battalion headquarters at Zokhawsang about 15 km east of Aizawl, an official statement said.

Mizoram’s lone Lok Sabha member C. Lalrosanga, currently in the national capital, on Tuesday called on Shah, who informed the MP that the country’s oldest paramilitary force headquarters will be shifted to Zokhawsang within a stipulated time, the statement issued by state Information and Public Relations department said.

The Union Home Minister also told Lalrosanga that he will visit the state to inaugurate and lay foundation stones for various projects, including Zokhawsang AR headquarters and Laldenga Cultural Centre, the statement said.

Official sources also said that Shah will undertake a day-long visit to Mizoram on April 1 during which he will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of various development projects worth Rs 2,414 crore, including Rs. 163.2 crore AR battalion headquarters at Zokhawsang and construction of Laldenga Cultural Centre in Aizawl worth Rs. 193 crore.

Assam Rifles has bases at Zodin (Lammual or AR ground) and Khatla areas in Aizawl.
Apart from these, the paramilitary force also has a commandant bungalow at Tuikual near Zodin, staff quarters at Zarkawt’s Mc Donald Hills in the heart of Aizawl and a firing range at Chite in the eastern part of the state capital.

The paramilitary force headquarters at Zodin is being shifted to Zokhawsang.

The demand for the relocation of AR headquarters from the heart of Aizawl to Zokhawsang was raised by the erstwhile Mizo National Front (MNF) government headed by former Chief Minister Laldenga in 1988 after the paramilitary force killed seven civilians in a clash.

It was one of the important commitments of the MNF in the last Assembly polls held in November 2018.

Although the Union Home Ministry in February 2019 had directed the paramilitary force to shift its base to Zokhawsang by May 31 of that year, relocation could not take place as many pending issues (structural developments) are yet to be resolved, Assam Rifles said.

Meanwhile, the Mizoram NGO-Coordination Committee, a conglomerate of major civil society organisations and student bodies headed by the Central Young Mizo Association (CYMA)asked private landholders at Zodin or Lammual area to surrender their lands to the state government to ensure that the area is used for the public.

The committee also urged the state government to cancel all Land Settlement Certificates (LSCs) and house site passes at Lammual.

State Land Revenue and Settlement department director K. Laldingliana said that a total of 54 people were issued LSCs and house site passes at the main Assam Rifles battalion headquarters or main barrack area, of which 8 holders have surrendered their lands to the state government to date.

Besides, LSCs and house site passes were also given to 4 individuals inside the AR commandant bungalow area at Tuikual and to 3 others inside the AR quarters area at MC Donald hills in the past, he said.

Earlier on March 24, the department had served show cause notices to people, who possessed Land Settlement Certificates (LSCs) and house site passes inside the area occupied by Assam Rifles at Zodin area or Lammual.

The LSC and house site pass holders were given 30 days time to explain why their lands should not be cancelled in accordance with the law.

In March 2019, the state cabinet resolved to cancel all LSCs and house site passes given to individuals.

The state assembly had also legislated “The Mizoram (Restriction on use of transferred land) Bill” in 2002 and an amendment bill to the principal act was passed in the recently concluded session to protect or restrict the use of private lands at Lammual.

MNF giving misleading information about inauguration: BJP

Mizoram BJP unit president Vanlalhmuaka blamed the ruling Mizo National Front (MNF) for allegedly exaggerating and giving misleading information about the proposed inauguration of the Assam Rifles headquarters complex by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Shah will pay a day-long visit to the northeastern state on Saturday during which he will inaugurate and lay the foundation stones of various development projects, including Assam Rifles headquarters at Zokhawsang near Aizawl and the construction of the Laldenga Cultural Centre in the area occupied by Assam Rifles at Aizawl’s Zodin or Lammual.

“The exaggeration by someone about the shifting of Assam Rifles base from Aizawl to Zokhawsang as if initiated at the behest of a person (Chief Minister) and the sole purpose of the upcoming Union Home Minister’s visit as if to shift the Assam Rifles headquarters, therefore, is misleading and baseless, ” Vanlalhmuaka told a press conference on Wednesday.

He said that Shah will visit the state on Saturday to inaugurate and lay foundation stones of various projects worth Rs. 2,414 crore and the inauguration of Rs. 163.2 crore Assam Rifles headquarters was a part of them.

The BJP leader said that development projects under the Centre are being inaugurated in a phased manner in different parts of the country and this time Mizoram got such an opportunity.

The Union Home Minister will also inaugurate various development projects in Bihar on April 2, Vanlalhmuaka said.

Also Read | Mizoram: Amit Shah to inaugurate Assam Rifles complex on April 1