Shillong, July 17: Meghalaya Chief Minister, Conrad K. Sangma will be meeting Assam Chief Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma in Guwahati on Saturday to initiate personal level discussions on the lingering Assam – Meghalaya boundary issue. The meeting will also fix tentative dates to officially start the Chief Ministerial level talks to resolve the decades old boundary dispute.
“I will be meeting the Assam CM tomorrow evening in Guwahati. The meeting is again more of an unofficial level as I had mentioned… we have been having unofficial discussions on this very important subject many times and tomorrow is a continuation of that. While we sit, we will also fix a date for our official meeting between the two governments,” Sangma told reporters here on Friday.
The meeting comes ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to the state on July 24.
The CM had earlier mentioned that the Ministry of Home Affairs, and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in particular, want the interstate boundary disputes in the region to be settled amicably once and for all. The Centre is apparently giving a lot of attention to the region, which is visible by providing five seats to leaders from the region in the Union Council of Ministers, with two leaders with given Union Cabinet Ministers berth – a first for the region.
Sangma said they are focusing on finding an ‘amicable solution’ which would be acceptable to the people of both the states. However, historical facts, Constitutional issues, population along the border areas will be important factors which also complicate the matter.
The issue of boundary dispute was also discussed during the meeting of the leaders of coalition partners in Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) held on Friday.
Sangma, who is also the chairman of MDA, said that he has decided to start the process of consultation with the stakeholders on the issue. “Therefore, we thought that consultation with the political parties would be the first one and after this, many will follow,” he said.
According to him, there is a need to involve different social organizations, headmen, nokmas as the government will have to go across the board to ensure more inclusion of the people who matter in the process.
The Chief Minister added that the state government would definitely discuss the long pending boundary issue with the Union home minister.
“We will also be discussing many developmental issues that are there as the Union Home Minister being the chairman of NEC. He is also very keen to discuss the afforestation and conservation works, especially in Sohra area,” he said.
He further informed that all the Chief Ministers of the North East have been invited during Shah’s visit to discuss issues that are common to the region.
“Apart from that, obviously state specific issues including the eighth schedule, issue of the sixth schedule amendment – all these matters will also be discussed with the home minister,” he shared.
Regarding the suggestion for setting up of a boundary commission, Sangma said the issue will also be discussed although it is not so simple.
“…this will require not just a commission – if you say a commission to look into the facts and figures but it is a lot to do with the political will also – so we have to really see it from all angles – We could look into that suggestions also but nothing has been decided yet,” he said.
