Home Minister Amit Shah will likely seal the agreement on the Assam-Meghalaya inter-state border dispute ahead of Meghalaya’s 50th statehood day celebration on January 21.
Home Minister Amit Shah is expected to seal the agreement on the inter-state border dispute between Assam and Meghalaya ahead of Meghalaya’s 50th statehood day celebration on January 21.
eghalaya Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong said that, more or less, both Assam and Meghalaya governments have almost completed reaching an agreement in six out of 12 areas.
“Both chief ministers have directed the respective governments to bring out all the detailed reports and thereafter one more meeting will take place between the two chief ministers and then there will be a meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah. We are hopeful that, maybe on January 20 or 21, both CMs will come back and final agreement will be made,” Prestone Tynsong said.
Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Meghalaya counterpart Conrad Sangma on Wednesday met in Guwahati and discussed the issues including reports submitted by the regional committees constituted by both the governments to find out solutions to the decades-long inter-state border dispute.
Out of 12 disputes, the governments of both neighbouring states have taken six disputes as resolution at the beginning and these disputes are mainly Tarabari, Gizang, Fahala, Baklapara, Khanapara (Pilingkata) and Ratacherra and these areas fall under Cachar, Kamrup and Kamrup Metropolitan districts of Assam and West Khasi Hills, Ri-Bhoi and East Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya.
Today, we have reached a mutual understanding between the two governments. But that understanding has to be ratified by larger stakeholders. We will discuss with the opposition parties, civil society groups, and students’ bodies on January 18. Similarly, the Meghalaya government will also do consultation with their civil society groups, students’ bodies, and political parties. If the parties, organisations, groups say that they will also agree with the state government’s decision and it will help the state, then we hope that we will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by this month,” Sarma said.
