Assam, Meghalaya agree to resolve 50-year-old boundary dispute

Assam and Meghalaya on Tuesday agreed to resolve their 50-year-old boundary dispute. 

Chief Ministers Himanta Biswa Sarma and Conrad Sangma signed the agreement in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Chief secretaries of the two states and hime ministry officials were also present.

Shah called it an “historic day” for the Northeast.

“Today is an important day for a dispute-free Northeast. Ever since [Narendra] Modi ji became the PM, he has worked continuously for the pride of the Northeast,” Shah said.

“I spoke to the PM about the Northeast border issue. In 2019, there was an agreement between the armed groups in Tripura. The Bru Reang Agreement, signed on January 16, 2020, benefited over 34,000 people. The historic Bodo Accord was signed on January, 27, 2020, ending the 50-year-old problem without disturbing Assam’s format and without disturbing its original character. Then, the Karbi Anglong agreement was reached in September 2021 and today this agreement. 70 per cent of the border dispute has been resolved,” he added.

Sangma said: “Of the 12 areas of difference, we have come to an agreement with Assam on six areas. Further, a survey will be done by the Survey of India with both states’ involvement, and when that’s done the actual demarcation will take place.”

“36sqkm comes under the ‘area of differences’, roughly including about 18sqkm area in both Assam and Meghalaya,” Sangma said.

Meghalaya was carved out of Assam under the Assam Reorganisation Act, 1971, a law that it challenged, leading to disputes. The two states share an 885-km-long border.