In a breakthrough, Assam and Meghalaya, signed an agreement to resolve five-decade-old border inter-state dispute in six of the 12 locations. The agreement was signed in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Ministers of Assam and Meghalaya Himanta Biswa Sarma and Conrad Sangma respectively.
“Historic day for the North-East. The signing of the interstate boundary settlement between the states of Assam and Meghalaya,” Shah tweeted.
“Six out of 12 points of the dispute has been resolved, which comprises nearly 70 per cent of the boundary. The remaining six points will be resolved at the earliest. Since 2014, Modi Ji has made numerous efforts for the development of the Northeast region. Today, I congratulate Assam CM and Meghalaya CM and their teams on the signing of the agreement to resolve their boundary dispute,” Shah said while addressing media at the function held at the Ministry of Home Affairs here.
The pact will resolve the long-pending dispute in six of the 12 places along the 884.9 km border between the two states. The six disputed places – Tarabari, Gizang, Boklapara, Pillangkata, Ratacherra, and Hahim – has 36 villages covering an area of 36.79 sq km.
Meghalaya was carved out of Assam as a separate state in 1972.
How the CMs of 2 states reacted to the pact
The Assam CM said that disputes in six remaining areas of Assam-Meghalaya border are expected to be resolved in the next six to seven months adding that they will work towards making the Northeast region a “growth engine”.
“It is a historic day for us. After this MoU, in the next six to seven months, we aim to resolve the issue of the remaining disputed sites. We will work towards making the Northeast region a growth engine in the country,” Sarma said.
The CM said that the “historic milestone” could only be achieved because of the “continuous effort” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union Home Minister.
The Meghalaya Chief Minister hailed the agreement and said that it will lead to a lot of peace in the border areas. He also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah want that the border dispute between Assam and Meghalaya be resolved at the earliest.
“Yes, there has been a lot of push from PM, from HM that they would like to see that these differences (Assam-Meghalaya border issue) are resolved because if India and Bangladesh can resolve the border issues then why can’t the states also – this is the stand they took,” he said.
“They have been continuously putting pressure on us but I must say that it’s a process and the process has been going on for a long time. Everybody has done their part, contributed in their own way. The push was given in last few years by the Centre and both state government,” he added.
