A Supreme Court affidavit has revealed that four companies linked to the family of Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu received 146 government contracts worth ₹383.74 crore between 2012 and 2023 in the state’s Tawang district. The firms belong to Khandu’s wife Tsering Dolma, his brother Tashi Khandu, and sister-in-law Nima Dremo.
Of these, 59 contracts worth ₹16.83 crore were awarded without tenders, despite government norms requiring tendering for works exceeding ₹50 lakh since 2020. At least 11 such work orders crossed this limit. The contracts covered construction and maintenance of roads, bridges, irrigation channels, civic buildings, power lines, tourist facilities and more.
The data was submitted after the Supreme Court asked the state to provide details in response to a PIL by Save Mon Region Federation and Voluntary Arunachal Sena, which alleged preferential allocation of contracts to the CM’s family. The Court observed that so many contracts going to one family was “an extraordinary coincidence.”
In its affidavit, the government defended direct work orders as a “common practice” in remote tribal areas and claimed that 95% of total contracts were still awarded through open tenders. The Court has directed the state to file updated records for all 28 districts from 2015–2025 within eight weeks. The case will be heard again on February 3.
