An 885-kilometre border divides Assam and Meghalaya. There are now 12 points of contention on their respective borders.
Upper Tarabari, Gazang reserve forest, Hahim, Langpih, Borduar, Boklapara, Nongwah, Matamur, Khanapara-Pilangkata, Deshdemoreah Block I and Block II, Khanduli, and Retacherra are among the locations where Assam and Meghalaya have a border dispute.
The Assam Reorganisation Act, 1971, was used to cut Meghalaya out of Assam, a statute it opposed, resulting in disagreements.
When did the dispute began?
The conflict began immediately after Meghalaya was established. The border issue was one of the flashpoints during former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi’s 12-year tenure as chief minister.
In truth, Tarun Gogoi’s old official residence, an Assam government guest house, was caught in a dispute. It was often claimed by Meghalaya as its territory, as it was located on a small hillock in the Khanapara-Pilangakata block.
The State Guest House was built in 1976 to house a VIP (very important person) who was visiting Guwahati for the All India Congress Committee Convention. Meghalaya has always maintained that its claim to the land was supported by records.
Assam and it’s border issues
The Northeastern states were created mostly from Assam, which has border issues with numerous other states. The Supreme Court is now hearing Assam’s boundary disputes with Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.
The boundary conflicts between Assam and Meghalaya and Mizoram are currently being resolved through negotiations. The recent escalation of the border issue with Mizoram prompted the Centre to intervene.
The Supreme Court is now hearing Assam’s boundary disputes with Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.
Border dispute between Assam and Meghalaya
Border dispute settlement panels have been established in both Assam and Meghalaya.
Two regional committees have been established to settle border disputes in a gradual way, with five aspects to be considered while resolving the border issue.
The Chief Ministers of Assam and Meghalaya met with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi to inform him of a deal made between the two states to resolve a decades-old boundary dispute.
Both the Chief Ministers of Assam and Meghalaya met with Union Home Minister Sushma Swaraj in Delhi to brief him on the regional border committee’s reports.
Discussion on the issue now
Assam and Meghalaya have agreed to settle disagreements at six locations along their 36-village border. For more than five decades, there has been a boundary dispute between the two countries.
“The willingness of the people in certain places has been one of the primary driving forces or principles on the basis of which we have achieved most of the conclusions in most of the areas,” Mr. Sangma told reporters in Shillong on Wednesday.
“Ethnicity has also played a significant role for us.” “Both the Assam and Meghalaya administrations have strongly felt that any State may try to claim an area, but the people living in that area cannot be forced to stay in a certain State,” he told the Press Trust of India on Wednesday.
“The Union Home Ministry is now anticipated to finalise a “conclusion,” but after a long-drawn exercise between the two states, more or less the structure has been established,” Mr Sangma had added.
After two rounds of talks between Mr Sarma and Mr Sangma to address the thorny border matter in a progressive way, the two states created three committees each in August last year.
