Assam-Meghalaya boundary issue resonates in Assembly

* Lack of development in Assam worsens the problem

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: A number of Meghalaya Police personnel camping in an Assam LP School in the disputed Lampi area along the inter-State boundary generated heat in the Assam Assembly on Wednesday. Meanwhile, uneasy silence is prevailing in the area because of the trespass by the police personnel of the neighbouring State who refuse to vacate the LP school even after request from Assam.

Raising the issue during the Zero Hour, AGP MLA Ramendra Narayan Kalita said, “Meghalaya has encroached upon Assam land at many stretches along the inter-State boundary, leading to tension in those areas. Such incidents occur because the Assam Government has not been laying thrust on border area development. Whenever the State government makes an effort to go ahead with border area development, objections are raised from the State Forest Department against carrying out such activities on Reserve Forest (RF) lands. Unlike Assam, Meghalaya doesn’t have any such problems. They are carrying out development works along the border, and that lures the border dwellers of Assam to avail of the facilities made available by the Meghalaya government. And this gives the neighbouring State a fair chance to encroach upon Assam land and claim such areas as theirs. The problem is that Assam has no BOP (border outpost) along this stretch of the Assam-Meghalaya border.”

Kalita further said, “People living on Reserve Forest lands along the border areas should be declared as ‘Forest dwellers’ and the areas as ‘Forest villages’ so as to ensure development activities there. Such a measure will help solve the problem.”

Speaker Hitendra Nath Goswami then intervened and said, “The dispute over Lampi has been quite old. It should have been resolved amicably by now.”

From the government’s side, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary said, “We’ve disputes with all States that share boundary with Assam. We’re laying stress on border areas, especially the Lampi area. The Deputy Commissioners of Kamrup and West Khasi Hills districts are going to meet on March 13, 2020. When we tried to set up a BOP at Lampi in February this year, the Meghalaya Government raised an objection. But of late, as many as 24 Meghalaya Police personnel are camping in Umali Presbyterian LP School on the Lampi area. That led us to deploy a patrol party in that area. We want to solve the dispute amicably, without using force as that may escalate the situation.”

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