Assam minister blames previous Cong govt for inter-state border disputes in NE

Guwahati, April 5 Assam cabinet minister Atul Bora on Wednesday blamed the previous Congress-led governments in the Centre as well as the state for the current border-related disputes between the northeastern states.

The minister said this in the Assembly while asserting the long-standing border dispute with Arunachal Pradesh is expected to be resolved by the end of this year.

He said that when the states of Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, and Mizoram were carved out of Assam, the border between them should have been clearly demarcated.

"From Assam, these states were created. At that time, both the Centre and the state were ruled by the Congress. This problem wouldn't have occurred if they clearly demarcated the border at the time of formation of these states," Bora, Minister for Border Protection and Development, said.

The minister claimed that significant progress has been made under the current government in resolving boundary disputes between Assam and other neighbouring states.

In response to a question from BJP MLA Hitendra Nath Goswami, Bora said, "We are hoping that our border conflict with Arunachal Pradesh will be resolved by the end of this year."

The minister claimed that both states had established 12 regional committees to visit the disputed areas and prepare a report based on their findings.

According to the minister, the two states will sign an agreement to resolve their differences in accordance with the suggestions made by the regional committees.

Bora also informed the assembly about the progress on resolving disputes with other neighbouring states.

On resolving the border issue with Meghalaya, Bora stated that the two states have already signed an MoU to resolve disagreements in six of the twelve highlighted areas.

"The subject is being pursued by regional committees for the remaining six areas after being delayed by the Meghalaya Assembly elections," he added.

According to Bora, the Assam government is currently reviewing the Mizoram government's submission of its documentation about the land it claims to own.