Our correspondent
Itanagar: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Wednesday assured that the inter-state boundary dispute between Changlang district and Assam, which was excluded from the Namsai Declaration of July 15, 2022, will be taken up with Assam soon for an amicable settlement.
Responding to a question from Independent MLA Laisam Simai in the assembly, Khandu explained that the Regional Committee for Changlang failed to submit its report to the local commission set up by the Supreme Court, leading to the district’s exclusion from the resolution process.
“As per the local commission’s directives, the Namsai Declaration addressed boundary disputes involving 123 villages across eleven districts,” Khandu said. He added that disputes have been resolved in five districts, while the remaining six are close to settlement.
The chief minister assured that the matter concerning Changlang would be addressed separately with the Assam government.
Simai, while raising the issue, pointed out that the regional committee for Changlang, formed in June 2022, has been inactive due to Assam’s initial opposition, as the 2014 local commission report did not mention any disputed villages in the district.
He emphasized that Changlang, the state’s second-largest district, shares a long border with Assam and cannot be overlooked.
Home Minister Mama Natung while responding to concerns of the lawmaker, informed the assembly that Assam objected to Changlang’s inclusion in the dispute resolution process, citing its absence from the 123 disputed villages listed in the 2014 local commission report.
“The regional committee for Changlang was not reconstituted, but the state government has requested Assam for an early resolution,” Natung said, adding that the issue remains under active review.
He noted that boundary disputes in West Kameng, East Siang, Lohit, Tirap, and Namsai districts have already been resolved, while disputes in Pakke Kessang, Papum Pare, Kamle, Lower Siang, Lower Dibang Valley, and Longding are under review.
The reconstituted regional committees for these districts convened a meeting with Assam’s committees in September last year, wherein it was decided to go for joint inspections of the disputed areas soon.
The ‘Namsai Declaration’ was signed after a crucial meeting between Chief Ministers Pema Khandu and Himanta Biswa Sarma, along with cabinet ministers from both states, to resolve disputes over 123 villages presented by Arunachal Pradesh to the Local Commission in 2007.
The two chief ministers agreed in principle to reduce the number of disputed villages from 123 to 86.
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