HT Digital
GUWAHATI, Mar 6: Even after continuous attempts to settle boundary conflicts, about 82,751 hectares of land in Assam are still under occupation by neighboring states, Border Security and Development Minister Atul Bora said.
Bora admitted the issue is age-old, adding that if proper demarcation was conducted when the bordering states were separated from Assam, such conflicts would have been averted.
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But he stressed that with Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma at the helm, this process of settling these disputes has picked up steam. Already agreements have been finalized with Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya, while talks with Nagaland and Mizoram are also underway.
At present, Arunachal Pradesh is in possession of 16,144 hectares of land of Assam, Nagaland has 59,490 hectares, Meghalaya 3,441 hectares, and Mizoram 3,675 hectares. The Survey of India is carrying out border surveys as per the agreements entered into with Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh.
On the border dispute of Assam with Arunachal Pradesh, Bora said settlements have been achieved in 71 of Arunachal’s 123 claimed villages.
As for the border dispute between Assam and Nagaland, while the latter is pending in the Supreme Court, efforts by the two state governments are on to settle the dispute through mutual talks.
