Assam and Meghalaya on March 29 signed an agreement in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah to resolve part of their five-decade-old inter-state border dispute. They signed an agreement to resolve their 50-year-old border dispute in six of the 12 locations.
- With this agreement, about 70 per cent of the border between the two states (884-km) has become dispute-free.
- According to the joint final set of recommendations made by the committees, out of 36.79 sq km disputed area taken up for settlement in the first phase, Assam will get full control of 18.51 sq km and Meghalaya 18.28 sq km.
- Agreement based on 5 principles: Both states have formed border dispute settlement committees. Five aspects were to be considered in resolving the border dispute —historical facts, ethnicity, administrative convenience, mood and sentiments of the people concerned and the contiguity of the land.
- 12 dispute areas: Upper Tarabari, Gazang reserve forest, Hahim, Langpih, Borduar, Boklapara, Nongwah, Matamur, Khanapara-Pilangkata, Deshdemoreah Block I and Block II, Khanduli and Retacherra.
Background
- Assam shares a 2743 km boundary with Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and West Bengal.
- Assam is locked in border disputes with Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh. During British rule, Assam included present-day Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya, besides Mizoram, which later became separate states.
- Meghalaya was carved out of Assam as a separate state in 1972 but the new state had challenged the Assam Reorganisation Act, 1971, leading to dispute in 12 locations in the border areas.
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