82,751 Hectares Of Land In Assam Occupied By Neighboring States: Minister Atul Bora

Nearly 82,751 hectares of land in Assam have been encroached upon by four neighbouring states of Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Mizoram. Of which, Nagaland occupies the largest span of 59,490.21 hectares.

Guwahati:Assam's border dispute with neighboring states has been a long-standing complex issue and the government has now stated that neighbours have encroached upon a total of 82,751.8618 hectares of land in the state.

According to data from the Border Security and Development Department of the Government of Assam, the neighboring states that have encroached upon Assam's land are Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland, state Border Security and Development Minister Atul Bora told in the House during the autumn session of the Assembly that concluded on Friday.

Which state has encroached upon how much land in Assam?

State minister Atul Bora informed that the quantum of land that the four bordering states have been encroaching upon is 82,751.8618 hectares. The state-wise land encroachment follows:

States	Land (Hectares)
Arunachal Pradesh	16,144.0117
Nagaland	59,490.21
Meghalaya	3,441.8601
Mizoram	3,675.78

Bora further informed that the Assam government has also taken several steps to strengthen the border security system in the last three years. According to information received from the Superintendents of Police (Border) of Assam Police, in the last three years, the Assam state government has set up a number of border police patrol camps and deployed police commandos along the border to strengthen border security.

Of these, 38 commandos are deployed in the Dulung forest area of Lakhimpur on the Assam-Arunachal border and preparations are on to set up new camps. The Assam government has set up eight border check posts each in Cachar district sharing boundary with Mizoram and six border guarding posts on the border of West Karbi Anglong, adjoining Meghalaya.

This apart, the state government has temporarily set up two camps along the Mizoram border at Karimganj in Barak Valley. In Upper Assam's Sivasagar district, seven border guarding posts and commando forces have been deployed along the Nagaland border.

Four temporary border police posts have also been set up along the Mizoram border in Hailakandi district in Barak and a permanent commando battalion camp has also been set up. Similarly, four new border check posts have been set up along the Nagaland border in the hill district of Dima-Hasao.

Notably, Assam government does not possess a detailed information about land encroachment and areas that have been reclaimed in the last five years. The Assam government has continued its negotiations with the neighboring states in a soft manner to resolve the border dispute.

Border dispute resolution process

After chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma government was formed in 2021, Assam has been witnessing a dialogue process at various levels to resolve border disputes. Bora informed the House that work is being done by forming 12 regional committees in the disputed border areas with the neighboring states to resolve the disputes. These committees are carrying out the dialogue process by making joint visits to the disputed border areas.

Settlement of border disputes in 71 villages of Assam-Arunachal Pradesh:

Bora further informed the House that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on April 20, 2023 regarding 123 villages claimed by Arunachal Pradesh as its own. Disputes in 71 villages of Assam-Arunachal Pradesh were resolved while the negotiation process for the remaining 52 villages will continue, the minister added.

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