ITANAGAR : Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Wednesday announced that the state government would constitute a high-level committee to deliberate on issues relating to Inner Line Permit (ILP) regulation, demographic concerns, indigenous tribal rights and APST-related matters.
Addressing a high-level consultative meeting at the State Banquet Hall in Niti Vihar, Khandu assured that the government would work collectively with all stakeholders to evolve concrete and long-term solutions on the issues.
Describing the deliberations as “historic,” the Chief Minister said the nearly seven-and-a-half-hour meeting witnessed participation from community-based organisations (CBOs), student bodies, legal experts, civil society representatives, political leaders and senior government officials.
Representatives of the Arunachal Indigenous Tribes Forum (AITF), All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU), ST Bachao Andolan Committee (STBAC), political parties and officers from the Home, Law and Political departments, besides the Directorate of Indigenous Affairs and other departments, attended the meeting.
Khandu expressed gratitude to the ST Bachao Andolan Committee for drawing the government’s attention to what he termed a “long-burning issue” linked to illegal immigration, demographic imbalance and threats to indigenous identity and cultural preservation.
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day address on August 15, 2025, the Chief Minister said the Union Government has already recognised demographic imbalance and illegal immigration as serious concerns affecting law and order, indigenous culture and national security.
He also informed the gathering that Union Home Minister Amit Shah has constituted a national-level High-Level Committee on Demographic Change comprising a retired judge, retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) officers, and senior officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The Chief Minister stated that the state government has, in principle, accepted the four major demands raised during the meeting, including the long-pending demand for creation of a separate department for management and regulation of the ILP system under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR).
Announcing in-principle approval for creation of a dedicated ILP Department, Khandu said the proposal had been consistently advocated by both AAPSU and STBAC.
Highlighting the need for long-term solutions, the Chief Minister strongly advocated skilling and capacity-building of local youths to reduce dependency on outside labour and workforce. He urged apex CBOs to actively encourage vocational skill development initiatives across the state.
As a follow-up to the meeting, Khandu informed that another meeting would be convened on May 29 for formal constitution of the high-level committee. He invited seven representatives each from AITF, AAPSU and STBAC, along with members from the legal fraternity, to participate in the process.
The Chief Minister assured that the committee would be officially notified after finalisation of members and that all recommendations submitted by the panel would be discussed transparently before any final policy decisions are taken.
Reiterating the spirit of “Team Arunachal,” Khandu called upon all stakeholders to work collectively towards safeguarding indigenous rights, strengthening governance and ensuring the long-term development and stability of the state.
