Guwahati: Despite several rounds of assurances by the BJP-led government in Assam, the inter-state boundary disputes of the northeastern state with its neighbouring states are far from being over.
Although the Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma-led government in Assam had promised to adopt "give and take"a new approach to resolve the inter-state boundary, the disputes continue and seemingly there is no formula at hand to end the conflicts.
Although the BJP government in Assam, which came to power for a second consecutive term in 2021, prioritised the boundary disputes among the northeastern states and several rounds of meetings and discussions also took place, the solution remained elusive.
It may be mentioned that Assam is currently having inter-state border disputes with Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram and Meghalaya. These states were originally part of Assam, but when the Union Government decided to carve out separate states, the boundaries of these states were marked only on maps, which triggered confusion and often led to disputes between the people living on either state of the border.
According to statistics available from the Assam government, the state's 16144.0117 hectares of land is under encroachment by Arunachal Pradesh while Nagaland is encroaching upon 59490.21 hectares of Assam's land.
Similarly, 3441.8601 hectares of the state's land is encroached upon by Meghalaya while Mizoram has been encroaching upon 3675.78 hectares of Assam's land. The statistics tabled at the Assam Legislative Assembly reveal that a total of 82751.8618 hectares of Assam's land is under encroachment by four neighbouring states--the highest encroached upon by Nagaland.
As the year passes, let's have a look at the status of Assam's boundary dispute with other northeastern states.
Status of Assam-Mizoram border disputes
Assam had rounds of crucial meetings with the Mizoram government to resolve the border disputes between the two states. Assam Agriculture Minister Atul Bora visited Mizoram in August this year to hold crucial meetings involving the Home Department of Mizoram. The two states also had Chief Minister-level meetings this year to resolve the border conflicts. According to Assam government sources, the two state leaders are scheduled for another round of meetings in January 2025 to resolve the boundary disputes. It may be mentioned that the length of the Assam-Mizoram border is around 164.6 km and most of the disputed area falls under the Karimganj and Hailakandi districts of Assam.
The Assam government had also taken several steps to ensure the safety of the people in border areas, which included the deployment of commando forces and the establishment of border checkposts to defuse tension between the people living on either side of the border.
Status of Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border dispute
The discussion to resolve the border disputes between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh has made some headway this year with both the states agreeing about 123 border villages. While the disputes involving 71 border villages have already been resolved, the process is underway to demarcate the borders, discussion has also been heading positively regarding 52 villages.
It may be mentioned that Assam has 804.10 km of inter-state boundary with Arunachal Pradesh and it involves eight districts on the Assam side. While the Survey of India took up the disputes in Sonitpur district, the border disputes in other districts, including Udalguri, Biswanath, Lakhimpur, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Charaideu and Dhemaji are yet to be taken up for demarcation. The problem is compounded because people living on either side of the border often accuse each other of encroaching upon the lands belonging to the other state. There have also been reports of skirmishes between the people of the two states in 2024.
Status of Assam-Meghalaya border dispute
While the border dispute between Assam and Meghalaya has been resolved on paper, it has yet to be implemented on the ground. While the disputes involving areas like Lampi, Borduar, Des Dumoria and dispute areas in Karbi Anglong district of Assam have reached some resolution there are reports of fresh encroachment from Meghalaya on Assam land. This has forced the governments in both states to institute three separate committees to deal with the situation and to find an amicable solution. Although the committees have submitted their recommendations implementation on the ground is awaited.
