Will try to resolve border dispute by November-end, says Arunachal CM Pema Khandu

 Significant stride in Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border talks

OUR BUREAU

GUWAHATI/ITANAGAR: Assam and Arunachal Pradesh are well on the way to resolving the decades-long vexed inter-state border dispute. A meeting to solve the border dispute was held in Arunachal Pradesh today between five ministers of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu and his team. After the meeting, both sides exuded confidence that almost '80 per cent' of the border issue was likely to be resolved soon and the remaining 20 per cent would be resolved in the next Chief Ministerial-level meeting.

The five ministers who attended the meeting were Atul Bora, Keshab Mahanta, Jayanta Mallabaruah, Bimal Borah and Sanjay Kishan. The regional committees of both states held discussions. After the meeting, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu said that the Arunachal-Assam inter-state boundary row would be resolved once and for all, probably by the end of November. He said that today's meeting could be termed the penultimate one in the series of meetings held between the two states after the historic Namsai Declaration.

"In the first meeting between me and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma at Namsai, the dispute in 123 villages along the border had been resolved. Today, we reached a consensus on the resolution of the dispute in many other villages. Another meeting will be held between me and my Assam counterpart for a final agreement and permanent solution. Both of us will try to resolve all disputes by the end of November," said Khandu.

He informed that following the Namsai Declaration, 12 committees were formed headed by a cabinet minister – both by Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. These committees jointly visited the disputed areas, took feedback from people of both sides and submitted their reports to their respective state governments. "Today we discussed these reports district-wise in depth. I am happy that all reports are positive in effect and the committees of both the states have sincerely and jointly worked to find a permanent solution to this boundary issue," he said.

The Chief Minister pointed out that 'if there is a strong political will' no issue could remain unresolved for decades. He expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for their motivation and being the guiding force in ensuring a smooth communication between the two neighbour states to resolve the boundary row out of court.

Talking to media persons after the meeting, minister Atul Bora said, "The meeting today has been satisfactory. Dispute in many villages has been resolved and when the dispute in the remaining villages is sorted out, the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border row will be resolved. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is keen to resolve border disputes with all neighbouring states by 2024. We are progressing well with Meghalaya and now we have also made significant progress with Arunachal Pradesh."

Assam shares a 804.10-km boundary with Arunachal Pradesh.

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