Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI: Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the erection of the first pillar along the now resolved Assam-Meghalaya border will give the exact clarity on the jurisdiction of the administration and people on either side of the interstate boundary.
Assam and Meghalaya installed the first pillar in the Hahim area between the Kamrup district in Assam and the Ri-Bhoi district in Meghalaya on July 2.
The Chief Minister said, "With the erection of this pillar, governance can finally shine in these once grey areas. People and administration on both sides now have exact clarity on jurisdiction."
Terming it as the pillar of peace and clarity, the Chief Minister said that in 1972, when Meghalaya state was carved out, a significant portion of its boundary with Assam was left ambiguous, often leading to chaos and tension between the two states. "Fifty years later, in 2022, in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, our two states signed a historic MoU to begin defining our boundaries. Six of the 12 disputed areas have been resolved and earmarked for boundary works, and fruits of that agreement are now flowing in as the first pillar gets erected," he said.
In 2022, the MoU was signed to resolve six of the 12 disputed areas along the interstate boundary. The six resolved areas are Tarabari, Hahim, Gijang, Boklapara, Khanapara-Pilingkata, and Ratachera. The regional committees of both the states have been visiting the remaining disputed areas. A few days ago, the Assam Chief Minister and his Meghalaya counterpart had a meeting at the Koinadhara guest house in Guwahati. Both the chief ministers expressed their hopes to settle all border districts through talks.
An MoU was also signed in April 2023 in New Delhi in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah to resolve the disputed villages between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. Seventy-one of the 123 disputed villages were settled amicably. The Survey of India is conducting surveys of the remaining disputed villages between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
Assam and Mizoram have also been holding meetings from time to time to resolve boundary disputes.
Since a case regarding border disputes between Assam and Nagaland is being heard in the Supreme Court, the two states are waiting for the verdict from the apex court. The mismatch of concept between the two states is that while Assam wants to resolve the disputes based on the constitutional boundary, Nagaland wants to solve the disputes based on the historical boundary.
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