Guwahati, April 27: Residents living in the border areas of Arunachal Pradesh have expressed their opposition to the boundary deal signed with Assam on April 20 to resolve a decade-old border dispute. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Arunachal Pradesh counterpart Pema Khandu signed the Memorandum of Understanding in the presence of Home Minister Amit Shah to end the 50-year-old dispute pertaining to 123 villages along their 804-km inter-State border.
The Tirap, Changlang and Longding People’s Forum (TCLPF) has threatened to go to court against the “unilateral, biased” boundary deal which is totally against the interest of Arunachal’s Tangsa people living in Assam and the affected villages of Changlang district. The forum also said a local commission appointed by the Supreme Court in 2006 carried out field visits in certain areas of Arunachal Pradesh but did not visit or conduct any survey in Changlang district.
The Tirap, Changlang and Longding are the easternmost districts of Arunachal Pradesh.
The people of 13 villages on either side of the border convened a meeting on April 24 to strongly oppose the boundary deal.
“As a result, it was indicated that there were no claimed villages for the Changlang-Tinsukia district in 2007″ stated the forum.
“The local commission in its report showed district-wise transfer of areas by a notification of 1951 and areas claimed by Arunachal Pradesh through the proposal of a boundary adjustment. About 330 sq. km was transferred from Changlang district to Tinsukia district, without the consent of the people of Changlang.” was further mentioned in the forum.
