Guwahati, 22nd July: The Regional Committees of Assam and Meghalaya convened in Guwahati’s Koinadhora on Saturday to address the longstanding border issue between the two states, submitting their respective reports during the crucial meeting.
Other important officials, including MLA Nandita Das, Meghalaya MLA Sosthenes Sohtun, and DCs of Kamrup (M), Kamrup, and related Meghalaya districts, attended the meeting, which was presided over by Assam cabinet ministers Atul Bora and Chandra Mohan Patowary and Meghalaya deputy chief minister Prestone Tynsong.
Discussions centered around border matters in three regions, Kamrup (Metro) and Kamrup districts, with further meetings scheduled for August 25 after the submission of preliminary reports by both states’ DCs. On August 26, joint visits to the West Dimoria region are planned for the regional committees.
As part of the Chief Ministerial-level talks in May, both chief ministers decided to jointly visit Karbi Anglong and West Jaintia Hills in June, aiming to foster confidence-building measures. In line with this, three regional committees were directed to engage in stakeholder consultations and fact-finding missions in the six remaining areas of dispute out of the total 12.
While progress has been made in resolving issues in six areas, six other disputed areas are yet to be addressed. Assam and Meghalaya have identified 12 contentious areas along their 884.9-km-long interstate border. The two northeastern states initiated their first round of discussions in July 2021 and signed an MoU in March of the previous year, in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, with the goal of resolving differences and fostering mutual understanding.
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