Guwahati: The Chief Ministers-level talks on the border disputes between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh at Namsai on Friday have concluded with the signing of the historic 'Namsai Declaration'.
The Namsai Declaration marks the resolution in principle of disputes regarding 37 locations out of 123 along the borders between the states. Now disputes regarding the remaining 86 border locations will be assessed by the regional committees of both states and a final resolution will be arrived at based on the reports of these committees.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Arunachal Pradesh counterpart Pema Khandu jointly briefed the media after the bilateral discussions. Assam's Chief Minister, Sarma said, "We may have physical demarcations but people of the two states are emotionally one."
On the other hand, Pema Khandu said, "We were originally united and some minor boundary disputes occurred after our separation. I am hopeful that we can solve the problems. Today's decisions have been possible only due to political will, which was weak in case of earlier political leaders of the two states." He also expressed special thanks to Sarma for "his initiative" in the matter.
Sarma said, "We (Governments of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh) went to the Supreme Court for a solution to our border dispute. Prime Minister and Union Home Minister, meanwhile, spoke with me and Arunachal Pradesh CM to resolve the issues amicably through talks across the table. Effort and goodwill from both sides have led to today's moment."
Sarma said that reports of the Deputy Commissioners concerned of Assam revealed that 28 villages claimed by the state are actually located within the constitutional boundary of Arunachal Pradesh. Secondly, there are six other villages records of which are not available with officials of Assam. Therefore, he said, Assam today withdrew its claim to these 34 villages. Sarma said that on the other hand, the Government of Arunachal Pradesh had declared as far back as 2010 that it had no claim to three disputed villages and, as such, these will now officially belong to Assam.
Sarma expressed the hope that the dispute regarding the remaining 86 villages will also be amicably resolved by September 15 next. "Namsai Declaration will stand as a testimony to the need for resolution of issues through talks rather than opting for legal means, wherever possible", he said.
The Assam Chief Minister further observed that the border disputes are emotional issues and both sides need to proceed cautiously to resolve them by responding to the sentiments of the local people.
According to Assam's Border Areas Development Minister, Atul Bora, the regional committees of both states will jointly visit each of the remaining disputed villages and work in coordination before submitting their final reports.
Apart from Chief Minister Sarma and Atul Bora, Assam was represented at today's meeting by Cabinet Ministers Ashok Singhal, Bimal Bora and Pijush Hazarika along with senior officials. Apart from Chief Minister Khandu, Arunachal Pradesh was represented by Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein and other Cabinet Ministers and officials.
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