Assam, Meghalaya CMs hold 9th meeting on border issues

Regional panels to resolve six remaining disputes

GUWAHATI: A Chief Ministers' level meeting on the Assam-Meghalaya border dispute, held at the Janata Bhawan here on Sunday, decided to form three Regional Level Committees to solve disputes in six remaining border areas between the two states.

The 9th Chief Ministers' level meeting between Assam's Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Meghalaya counterpart Conrad K Sangma decided that the three regional committees will be headed by two Cabinet Ministers of each state along with members from the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) as three disputed sites out of six fall within the jurisdiction of the KAAC.

The governments will notify the regional committees within 15 days. The members of the committees will undertake extensive visits and talk to the local people in the spirit of friendship and iron out differences to amicably evolve mutually-agreeable solutions.

As goodwill and confidence-building measures, the Chief Ministers of both the states will also visit the disputed sites and talk to the local people.

While thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Chief Minister Sarma said that after resolving the six disputed boundaries in the first phase, the remaining boundary disputes will also be solved amicably under their guidance.

During earlier discussions between the two governments, Meghalaya had cited 12 areas of boundary disputes with Assam and accordingly meetings and discussions were held to resolve six disputed sites in the first phase, leaving the remaining six for the second phase.

Following a series of meetings and activities, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on March 29 last in presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi, paving the way for resolving the six disputed sites.

Assam's Chief Secretary Jishnu Baruah, his Meghalaya counterpart DP Wahlang, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Samir Sinha, Principal Secretary of the Home and Political Department, Niraj Verma, Secretary of Border Protection and Development, Prabhati Thaosen, Secretary of Meghalaya's Home and Political Department, Cyril Diengdoh and other senior officers of the both the states were present during the meeting.

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