Decode Civils CAShorts
Current affairs Open app
NationalGS3GS2

Eleven arrested after 100-day dharna for rehabilitation at LPAI land port

By CAShorts DeskPublished Source: The Hindu; PIB (Ministry of Home Affairs; Ministry of Commerce and Industry); Ministry of External Affairs

Eleven arrested after 100-day dharna for rehabilitation at LPAI land port
Illustration (AI-generated)

Police arrested 11 adivasi residents of Torsa Tea Garden, four women and seven men, on 3 November 2026. They were protesting at a Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI) site in West Bengal's Alipurduar district, on the India-Bhutan border. Residents had held a dharna there for over 100 days seeking rehabilitation and compensation. The FIR followed an LPAI engineer's complaint.

Syllabus: GS3 · Infrastructure; GS2 · Welfare of Vulnerable Sections; GS2 · India & its Neighbourhood

Why this matters for UPSC

GS2 governance and GS3 border infrastructure: the Land Ports Authority of India and Integrated Check Posts. Prelims can ask LPAI's parent ministry and ICP locations; Mains, displacement and peaceful protest.

Why it matters

A tea garden family that has worked a plot for generations, but holds no title to it, can lose its land and its living when a border project arrives. Without papers, its claim to be compensated and resettled is harder to prove, so sitting in protest becomes its main way to be heard. When that protest ends in arrests, trust between the families and the project weakens and the work can stall. Land ports matter to the country too, because they carry trade with neighbours such as Bhutan, and disputes over land have delayed such projects before. Settling the families' claims early helps both the people and the crossing.

Prelims pointers

  • The LPAI has a Chairman and two whole-time Members, with representation of officials from the Centre and the States.
  • Look-alikes: a Land Customs Station (LCS) is a notified point for customs clearance of trade; an ICP adds immigration, warehouses and terminals at one crossing.
  • ICPs working by February 2019 included Attari (Pakistan border), Petrapole and Agartala (Bangladesh), Raxaul and Jogbani (Nepal) and Moreh (Myanmar), per the Home Ministry.
  • Ten Land Customs Stations on the India-Bhutan border are notified for trade; Jaigaon-Phuentsholing carries almost 70% of Bhutan's total trade, per the MEA (June 2026).
  • Besides an ICP at Jaigaon-Phuentsholing, India and Bhutan agreed in September 2024 to expedite rail links between Kokrajhar and Gelephu and between Banarhat and Samtse.

Practise a UPSC-style question

With reference to the Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI), consider the following statements:

1. It functions as a body corporate under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

2. It was set up under the Land Ports Authority of India Act, 2010.

3. It is tasked with developing Integrated Check Posts at designated points on India's international borders.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. (a) 1 and 2 only
  2. (b) 2 and 3 only
  3. (c) 1 and 3 only
  4. (d) 1, 2 and 3
Show the answer

Answer: (b) 2 and 3 only

Answer: (b) 2 and 3 only. The LPAI is a Home Ministry body created by a 2010 Act.

Statement 1: incorrect. The LPAI functions as a body corporate under the Department of Border Management of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Statement 2: correct. The Home Ministry notified the LPAI's establishment from 1 March 2012 under the Land Ports Authority of India Act, 2010.

Statement 3: correct. Its mandate covers security systems for cross-border movement and the development of Integrated Check Posts.

Eliminate: statement 1 is wrong, so every option containing 1 goes. Out: (a), (c), (d).

Trap: Swapped attribution. Land ports carry trade, so the Commerce Ministry sounds right, but the LPAI sits under the Home Ministry.

Remember: LPAI: 2010 Act, set up 2012, Home Ministry's Department of Border Management.

More from the 6 November 2026 edition

All stories of 6 November 2026

More National current affairs