Assam, Meghalaya resume border talks

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in news?
• What is Assam-Meghalaya border dispute?
• Efforts to resolve the Assam-Meghalaya border dispute
• Assam-Meghalaya Border Pact
• News Summary: Assam, Meghalaya resume border talks
• Background:

 

Why in news?

• Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Meghalaya counterpart Conrad K Sangma resumed talks to resolve remaining border disputes in six boundary areas between both the states.
• In March 2022, the two northeastern states had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to resolve 6 of the 12 points of dispute along their border.
  • The six sectors where disputes remain are Langpih, Borduar, Nongwah-Mawtamur, Desh Doomreah, Block 1 & Block II, and Psiar-Khanduli.

 

What is Assam-Meghalaya border dispute?

• Creation of Meghalaya as a separate state
  • During British rule, undivided Assam included present-day Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Mizoram.
  • Meghalaya, carved out of Assam as an autonomous State in 1970, became a full-fledged State in 1972.
  • The creation of the new State was based on the Assam Reorganisation (Meghalaya) Act of 1969, which the Meghalaya government refused to accept.
• Why Meghalaya government refused to accept the state reorganisation act?
  • The 1969 Act had followed the recommendations of a 1951 committee to define the boundary of Meghalaya.
  • On that panel’s recommendations, areas of the present-day East Jaintia Hills, Ri-Bhoi and West Khasi Hills districts of Meghalaya were transferred to the Karbi Anglong, Kamrup (metro) and Kamrup districts of Assam.
  • Meghalaya contested these transfers after statehood, claiming that they belonged to its tribal chieftains.
• Position of Assam on the dispute
  • Assam said the Meghalaya government could neither provide documents nor archival materials to prove its claim over these areas.
• Dispute narrowed down to 12 sectors
  • After claims and counter-claims, the dispute was narrowed down to 12 sectors on the basis of an official claim by Meghalaya in 2011.

 

Efforts to resolve the Assam-Meghalaya border dispute

• Joint official committee formed in 1983
  • In 1983, a joint official committee was formed to address the border issues.
  • The panel recommended that the Survey of India should re-delineate the border, teaming up with both the states.
• Independent panel of 1985
  • An independent panel, spearheaded by Justice YV Chandrachud, was set up in 1985. Meghalaya rubbished the report.
• Border demarcation with the help of Survey of India
  • In 1991, about 100 km of the border was demarcated with the help of the Survey of India. However, Meghalaya did not accept it.
• In 2011, Centre comes into picture
  • In 2011, the Meghalaya Assembly passed a resolution for intervention of the Centre and the establishment of a boundary commission.
  • The Centre asked the two governments to appoint nodal officers to discuss the dispute.
• Three regional committees constituted in 2021
  • The two States had in June 2021 adopted a give-and-take policy to start the process of resolving the boundary dispute.
  • For this, they constituted three regional committees each.
  • The draft resolution, released in January 2022, was prepared on the basis of the recommendations of these regional panels.
  • In March 2022, a historic MoU was signed between the two states resolving the dispute in 6 of 12 sectors.

 

Assam-Meghalaya Border Pact

• About
  • In March 2022, Assam and Meghalaya partially resolved a 50-year-old border dispute in six of the 12 sectors along their 884-km boundary.
• The Agreement
  • As per the agreement, out of the disputed 36.79 sq. km land, Assam will get 18.51 sq. km of the disputed areas and Meghalaya will get the remaining 18.28 sq.km.
  • About 70% of the inter-State boundary has now become dispute-free with the signing of the agreement.
  • The problem in the six other areas will be resolved in the near future.
• What lies ahead?
  • The freshly demarcated border will have to be passed by Parliament by amending the North Eastern Region (reorganisation) Act, 1971.
  • This will then have to be ratified by the legislative assemblies of both the states.

 

News Summary: Assam, Meghalaya resume border talks

• Talks aimed at the resolution of border disputes between Assam and Meghalaya resumed with a chief minister-level meeting.
• This meeting was a first since the firing incident at the border village of Mukroh in November last year in which six people had died.

 

Background:

• Border dispute and efforts towards resolution
  • Assam and Meghalaya share an 884 km-long border which has frequently seen flare-ups.
  • The two chief ministers have been in talks to resolve the dispute since July 2021.
• Border pact signed in March 2022
  • In March 2022, CMs of both the states signed an MoU to settle the disputes in a 36.7-sq-km area comprising six out of the twelve disputed areas.
  • The second phase of talks, tackling the remaining six areas, was supposed to have begun August 2022.
• Firing incident at the border village of Mukroh and suspension of talks
  • Three months later, in November 2022, 6 persons, including an Assam Forest Guard, were killed in a clash between Assam Police and a mob.
  • This incident took place in a clash between a mob and a contingent of police and forest guards from Assam in pursuit of a truck allegedly smuggling timber across the inter-state border.
  • This firing incident was a setback before phase 2 began. It led to the suspension of talks.

 

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Q1) What is the geographical location of Meghalaya?

Meghalaya is a state located in northeastern India. It is situated in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent, bordered by the Indian states of Assam to the north and east, and Bangladesh to the south and west. Meghalaya is known for its picturesque landscapes, lush green hills, and abundant rainfall. The state's capital and largest city is Shillong.

 

Q2) What is the geographical location of Assam?

Assam is a state in northeastern India, located in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland to the north, Manipur and Mizoram to the south, and Tripura and Meghalaya to the west. Assam also shares international borders with Bhutan and Bangladesh. The Brahmaputra River, one of the major rivers in India, flows through the state, dividing it into two geographical regions: the Brahmaputra Valley in the north and the Barak Valley in the south. The state's largest city and commercial hub is Guwahati.

 

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Source: Assam, Meghalaya resume border talks after firing incident | Hindustan Times| The Hindu