Himanta Biswa Sarma and Conrad K. Sangma held a meeting on Wednesday.Guwahati: In a big breakthrough in the decades-old inter-state border dispute between Assam and Meghalaya, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Meghalaya counterpart Conrad K. Sangma on Wednesday held a meeting and decided to resolve six of the 12 inter-state border disputes before January 15.Meghalaya’s Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong said that Wednesday’s meeting was a “productive” and “good” meeting.”The meeting has decided that the regional committees formed by both the states will submit their reports to the respective Chief Ministers by December 31. After that, both the CMs will meet again and by January 15 we are hopeful of resolving the disputes in the six locations,” Mr Tynsong told the media after the meeting. The Meghalaya Deputy CM accompanied by Assam’s Agriculture and Border Area Development Minister Atul Bora said that in the first phase, six disputed locations are being mutually studied and after resolving the inter-state disputes in these six locations, the disputes of the remaining six locations would be taken up.The disputed locations in question along the Assam-Meghalaya border are Tarabari, Gizang, Boklapara, Pillangkata, Ratacherra, and Hahim.Meghalaya has also used drones to survey the bordering areas.After meeting with the Meghalaya CM, the Assam CM tweeted, “We have been continuously striving to resolve border issues with our neighbours. As part of our effort, held a meeting with my Meghalaya counterpart Shri Conrad K. Sangma along with Deputy CM Meghalaya Shri Prestone Tynsong & several ministers and senior officers of both states.””Our regional committees have submitted their reports and we are working towards final agreement on many disputed border areas. I am confident that gradually we will be able to resolve all-long pending border issues with Meghalaya and other neighbouring states,” Mr Sarma said.An official said that the Assam Chief Minister is likely to go to Delhi on Thursday or Friday to hold a meeting with his Nagaland counterpart Neiphiu Rio to discuss the inter-state border disputes.To settle the border dispute in 12 locations, Assam and Meghalaya in August had formed various regional committees led by Cabinet Ministers and officials of the two states to focus on five aspects – historical facts, ethnicity, administrative convenience, contiguity of the land, willingness and people’s sentiments.According to the Assam Chief Minister, of the 12 locations along Assam’s Cachar, Kamrup and Kamrup (metro) districts and Meghalaya’s West Khasi Hills, Ri-Bhoi and East Jaintia Hills districts, six disputed locations with lesser complications were taken up first.Assam has border disputes with Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Mizoram. Assam’s border dispute cases with Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh are before the Supreme Court but there are no cases on the inter-state disputes with Meghalaya and Mizoram.Recently, Assam and Nagaland had signed an agreement to remove state forces from the disputed locations. The Assam Chief Minister recently discussed with his Arunachal Pradesh counterpart Pema Khandu about an out of court settlement of the boundary disputes.The worst-ever violence along the Assam-Mizoram border on July 26 left six Assam Police personnel dead and nearly 100 civilians and security personnel of the two neighbouring states injured.The trouble between the states is due to conflicting interpretations of their territorial position. While Mizoram says the boundary line is the one laid down in the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation Act of 1875, Assam backs the 1933 demarcation.The Chief Ministers of Assam and Mizoram met in New Delhi on November 26 in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and discussed ways and means to resolve their border issues amicably.
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