After an unofficial meeting between Chief Ministers Himanta Biswa Sarma and Conrad Sangma over the border issue, an official date has been fixed to resolve this issue. The meeting will be held in Shillong on July 23. Himanta Biswa Sarma will visit one day ahead of the arrival of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
The meeting is being held to resolve the decades-old boundary dispute between the states. Meghalaya CM said, “We had a one-to-one conversation for 45 minutes and discussed this issue. During the meeting, it was decided that the Assam CM will come to Shillong on July 23 and the chief secretary of Assam will be present in the meeting. In the meeting, some presentations will be made by both the states.”
Once the meeting in Meghalaya is over, another meeting will be held in Guwahati, where teams of officials from both states will be present. “We want to find an acceptable solution and end this long pending problem and move forward to find an amicable solution,” Sangma said.
In a statement by Assam CM on encroachment of 53 areas by Meghalaya, Sangma said, “There has been claims and counterclaims (movement from Assam side and Meghalaya side too), but both the states need a fresh approach to solve this issue. The past needs to be kept in mind, but keeping it too much, may not help, as we have to move forward.”
After being asked about the encroachment, Meghalaya CM said they are sticking to 12 areas of difference. To resolve the issue, both the state officials need to visit these places together and try to mitigate the problems as much as possible.
