New Delhi: Assam and Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) resolving the decades-long border dispute, Home Minister Amit Shah termed it a historic moment in the Northeast as the border disputes have been pending for decades being completely resolved.
“Today’s agreement will prove to be a milestone in the direction of realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dream of a developed, peaceful and conflict-free Northeast,” said Shah. The long pending border dispute between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh was resolved following the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Arunachal Pradesh counterpart Pema Khandu in New Delhi.
Following the MoU, which was signed in presence of Home Minister Amit Shah at North Block, both States resolved disputes over 123 villages on both sides of the inter-state border along the 700 km long stretch. Terming it a red letter day for both Assam and Arunachal Pradesh to resolve their long boundary dispute amicably, Shah exuded optimism that the boundary settlement would usher in all-around development and peace in the Northeast region.
“Due to the efforts of the Modi government, all-round development is visible in the entire Northeast today and this entire region is on the path of progress. Prime Minister Modi himself has visited this region more than 50 times and has always promoted its language, culture, literature, costumes, and food,” he said, reiterating the Modi government’s aim to bring all-round development in the region.
Assam Chief Minister Sarma termed the signing of the MoU as historic and that it would be the harbinger of peace and prosperity.“We have resolved all the disputes. There are some village boundaries of which will be demarcated by Survey of India,” said Sarma. Stating that the MoU will be an example of peace, Sarma said, “While signing the MoU, issues like ethnicity, the district headquarter, administrative convenience and will of the people have got prominence.”
Also read: Assam-Arunachal to sign MoU on border dispute in presence of Amit Shah
Sharma said that border disputes with Nagaland and Mizoram will also be resolved.“ In Nagaland border oil exploration was halted. We are trying to come to an understanding to explore oil along the border areas of both the States,” he said. Sarma said that Mizoram talks are on to resolve the dispute. “In the next 2-3 months, all border disputes with Meghalaya will also be resolved,” he said.
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu termed the settlement of the boundary between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh as momentous and historic and exuded optimism that it would bring about a sea change on the peace and development front. Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, State Ministers Atul Bora, Jayanta Malla Baruah, Keshab Mahanta, Bimal Borah and Sanjay Kishan, Chief Secretary, Paban Kumar Borthakur, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Samir Sinha, Principal Resident Commissioner, Assam Bhawan, New Delhi, Rajeev Chandra Joshi, Principal Secretary, Border Protection and Development, GD Tripathi, Secretary, Border Protection and Development, Prabhati Thaosen and senior officials of MHA were present.
It is worth mentioning that the Assam Cabinet on Wednesday approved recommendations to resolve the decades-long border row with Arunachal Pradesh. Assam Chief Minister Sarma has had several rounds of meetings with his Arunachal Pradesh counterpart Khandu to address the boundary problem.
In July last year, both states signed the Namsai Declaration in which it was agreed to bring down the number of disputed villages from 123 to 86 and resolve the boundary row by forming 12 committees each headed by a Cabinet minister that would visit disputed areas, take feedback from residents and submit reports to their respective governments.
Earlier, the Governments of Assam and Meghalaya had signed a historic agreement in the national capital to resolve their 50-year-old pending border dispute in March 2022. The agreement was signed two months after a draft resolution was submitted by the Chief Ministers of the two states to Union Home Minister Amit Shah on January 31 for examination and consideration by the MHA.
