Meghalaya and Assam have finally been given a date for a meeting with the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to discuss the two states’ border dispute resolution – March 9.
This was informed by Chief Minister Conrad Sangma today. The two states have reached an in-principle agreement on how to resolve six areas of difference but need the Centre to sign off on the deal.
Speaking to reporters, Sangma said that the meeting will only discuss the border dispute and will not be used to discuss the coming forward of the outlawed Hynñiewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) for peace talks.
Meghalaya and Assam have 12 areas of difference but the six less intractable ones were taken on first by the two governments through a string of meetings and visits on the ground.
Assam’s government has been far more open about revealing specifics about the deal than has Meghalaya, which has so far been tight-lipped.
According to reports from Assam, the two states have decided that the 36.79 sq km of dispute land from the six areas – Gizan, Tarabari, Boklapara, Khanapara-Pilingkata and Ratacherra – will be split roughly in half, with Assam to get 18.51 sq km and Meghalaya 18.28 sq km.
Sangma had recently met with stakeholders, including leaders of pressure groups to apprise them of the status of the border talks but the latter were unhappy at the verbal-only briefing and expressed their desire to be able to study the agreement on paper.
