Guwahati, Aug 6: Assam and Meghalaya in its second round of Chief Minister-Level meeting on their inter-state border dispute have unanimously decided that if required, both the states would recommend Centre’s intervention to redraw their borders.
Meghalaya Chief Minister along with 10 other cabinet ministers in Friday came to Guwahati to hold the second round of the discussion that began at Shillong on July 23, 2021 and held meeting with Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma who was accompanied by two of his cabinet ministers Ranjit Dass and Chandra Mohan Patowary.
The meeting also decided to form five-member regional committees each headed by a cabinet minister to survey and try and find a solution to the dispute to at least 12 areas along the two state’s borders.
Seven districts of Assam including Kamrup Metro shares a border with northern and western Meghalaya among which, major disputes regarding the boundaries exist in at least 12 points mostly over three particular districts of Meghalaya viz. Ri Bhoi, East Khasi Hills and Jaintia Hills districts, acknowledged both the state’s Chief Minister in the earlier meeting.
“Both the state’s regional committees will jointly visit the troubled locations in the next 30 days and they will talk to locals and survey the areas in order to find a lasting solution to the border disputes,” the CMs said in a joint statement.
They said that they have taken a phase wise approach and will try to resolve the disputes in six locations at first. If required, the Chief Ministers will also visit those locations together.
“If all fails, we will have to redraw the map and as a neutral party, we will ask the Centre to do that” Assam CM Sarma said.
While, Meghalaya CM Sangma added, “There is a strong political will to solve the disputes and find a final solution that should be with mutual respect from both the sides.”
The solution will be based on ethinicity, contiguity; mood of people and administrative feasibility among other factors, Sarma added.
Border disputes
Border disputes between the two states date back to the inception of Meghalaya on January 21, 1972 when two districts of the then undivided Assam — United Khasi Hills and Jaintia Hills and Garo Hills — were carved out to form a separate state and the then unified Assam’s capital Shillong was shifted to Dispur while Shillong became Meghalaya’s capital.
Assam has a border dispute with Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh too. Last month, both Assam and Nagaland unanimously decided to withdraw their forces from their borders while last Thursday, following a meeting with Mizoram at Aizawl, both the states have decided to withdraw their forces and hand over to central neutral forces their borders following a clash on July 26 in which 6 Assam policeman died.
