Meghalaya and Assam began 2022 by exchanging their respective reports on the disputed border between the two states.
The reports were prepared by each state’s regional committees that were tasked by the respective government to put forward Meghalaya’s and Assam’s points of view on the vexed border conundrum.
The two states are hoping to settle the dispute in six less contentious areas. The two sides had made joint inspections, prepared documentary evidence and consulted with the local people in the six dispute areas before preparing their reports.
Addressing the press, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma informed that Deputy CM Prestone Tynsong met with Assam cabinet minister P Hazarika to share the reports.
“We had a detailed discussion and presentation and exchange of the reports that were made by the regional committees and now the Assam government has the report made by the Meghalaya government and vice versa. We have gone through it. A detailed discussion was also held and it was a very positive discussion,” the CM said.
Sangma, however, would not divulge much about the content of the states’ reports, saying that this is because he and his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma will have a chief ministerial meeting where a final decision will be taken.
This resolution will come in “the next few weeks”, with Meghalaya aiming for it to be by January 21, when the state will celebrate its 50th birthday, though he cautioned that “We cannot simply rush things and complete a task just because we have set ourselves a date.”
However, the report by the Jaiñtia Hills committee has yet to be submitted to Sangma. It is the only one from Meghalaya yet to be submitted, even though it was meant to have been put into the CM’s hands by December 31. Sangma excused the delay, pinning the blame on the festive season.
“But we should be getting the report very soon but, unofficially, without the report being submitted, we have discussed most of the areas and the details in the report have been shared with us, so we already know what is there in the report but the physical copy of the report has not been given to us yet,” Sangma said.
Meanwhile, the West Khasi Hills (from Meghalaya) and Kamrup (from Assam) delegates will meet again in Guwahati tomorrow. The Meghalaya side will be represented by cabinet minister Renikton Lyngdoh Tongkhar.
