The Chief Ministers of Assam and Meghalaya will hold a meeting on the inter-state border issue in Guwahati tomorrow.
Four rounds of chief ministerial-level talks between Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Meghalaya counterpart Conrad Sangma have taken place over the border issue. Three committees each were formed by the two state governments in August last year to resolve the vexed border disputes in a phased manner.
Out of a total 12 points of disputes between Assam and Meghalaya, six areas with relatively less critical differences have been taken up in the first phase.
It may be mentioned that Meghalaya and Assam began 2022 by exchanging their respective reports on the disputed border between the two states on January 3.
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 sides had made joint inspections, prepared documentary evidence and consulted with the local people in the six dispute areas before preparing their reports.
However, the contents of the reports remain under wraps. But officials said the reports from the regional committees have taken into consideration the historical and geographical facts, ethnicity and the willingness of the people, besides other facts.
Meghalaya was carved out of Assam as a separate state in 1972 and it had challenged the Assam Reorganisation Act, 1971, leading to the disputes. The two states share an 884.9 km long border.
The dispute, which has been running since the creation of Meghalaya, has left the people on the border suffering the most. While largely free of violence, there have also been some unfortunate incidents that have led to death and the destruction of property.
