Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma will meet Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday evening to fix a date for the official border talks between the two neighbouring states, according to reports. With a new government in Assam, Sangma had expressed hope about making progress towards finding an amicable solution to the long-standing dispute.
The issue of the boundary dispute with Assam was discussed during the meeting of the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA), held ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to the state on July 24. Sangma, who is the chairman of the MDA, said that he has decided to start the process of consultation with the stakeholders on the issue. Assam and Meghalaya have 12 areas of disputes between them.These are in Upper Tarabari, Gizang Reserve Forest, Hahim area, Langpih area, Bordwar area, Nongwah Mawtamur area, Pilangkata Khanapara area, Deshdemoria area, Khanduli area, Umkhyrni Psiar area, Areas of Block I and Block II and Ratacherra area.
Amit Shah, while addressing the 69th plenary meeting of the North Eastern Council (NEC) in January, had urged all the states in the region to solve their boundary disputes by August 15, 2022, when the country will be celebrating 75 years of Independence.
BJP leader and Meghalaya health and family welfare minister Alexander Laloo Hek had also stepped in recently to break the ice. He met Sarma in Guwahati and discussed resuming the CM-level talk between the two states.
Assam and Arunachal Pradesh have also agreed to find an out-of-court solution to their inter-state boundary dispute and have started working towards it, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu said earlier this week.
