ITANAGAR, March 12: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Wednesday said that his government will soon take up the boundary dispute in Changlang district with Assam for an amicable settlement.
Changlang was not included in the purview of the Namsai Declaration signed between the chief ministers of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh in 2022 to bring down the number of disputed border villages from 123 in 11 districts to 86.
Responding to a question from Independent MLA Laisam Simai in the assembly, Khandu said that the Regional Committee for Changlang failed to submit its report to the local commission set up by the Supreme Court, leading to the district’s exclusion from the resolution process.
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“According to the local commission’s directives, the Namsai Declaration addressed boundary disputes involving 123 villages across 11 districts,” Khandu said.
He added that disputes have been resolved in five districts, while the remaining six are close to settlement.
The chief minister assured the House that the matter concerning Changlang would be addressed separately with the Assam government.
Raising the issue, Simai pointed out that the regional committee for Changlang, formed in June 2022, has remained inactive due to Assam’s initial opposition, as the 2014 local commission report did not mention any disputed village in the district.
He emphasised that Changlang, the state’s second-largest district, shares a long border with Assam and cannot be overlooked.
Home Minister Mama Natung while responding to concerns of the lawmaker, informed the assembly that Assam objected to Changlang’s inclusion in the dispute resolution process, citing its absence from the 123 disputed villages listed in the 2014 local commission report.
“The regional committee for Changlang was not reconstituted, but the state government has requested Assam for an early resolution,” Natung said, adding that the issue remains under active review.
He noted that boundary disputes in West Kameng, East Siang, Lohit, Tirap, and Namsai districts have already been resolved, while disputes in Pakke Kessang, Papum Pare, Kamle, Lower Siang, Lower Dibang Valley, and Longding are under review.
The reconstituted regional committees for these districts convened a meeting with Assam’s committees in September last year, wherein it was decided to go for joint inspections of the disputed areas soon.
The ‘Namsai Declaration’ was signed after a crucial meeting between Chief Ministers Pema Khandu and Himanta Biswa Sarma, along with cabinet ministers from both states, to resolve disputes over 123 villages presented by Arunachal Pradesh to the Local Commission in 2007.
The two chief ministers agreed in principle to reduce the number of disputed villages from 123 to 86.
Arunachal Pradesh, which became a union territory in 1972, has long claimed that certain forested areas traditionally belonged to its tribal communities but were ‘unilaterally’ transferred to Assam.
After achieving statehood in 1987, a tripartite committee recommended transferring some territories from Assam to Arunachal Pradesh. However, Assam contested this, keeping the matter unresolved in the Supreme Court for years. (PTI)
