Nearly 83,000 hectares of Assam land under occupation of four neighbouring states: Govt

Nearly 83,000 hectares of Assam’s land are currently under the occupation of four neighbouring states, the Assam government informed the Assembly on July 29.

In a written reply to a question by Raijor Dal MLA Akhil Gogoi, Assam Border Protection and Development Minister Atul Bora said that a total of 82,751.86 hectares of land belonging to the state are under the occupation of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram.

Nagaland accounts for the largest share, with 59,490.21 hectares of Assam’s land under its occupation. Arunachal Pradesh follows with 16,144.01 hectares, while Mizoram and Meghalaya account for 3,675.78 hectares and 3,441.86 hectares, respectively.

The minister also said that the neighbouring states have laid claims over substantial portions of Assam’s territory. Nagaland has claimed 12,882.6 sq km, or 12,88,260 hectares, of Assam’s land, followed by Meghalaya with 2,732.14 sq km, Mizoram with 927.74 sq km and Arunachal Pradesh with 858.91 sq km.

Bora said the Assam government is pursuing dialogue to resolve the long-standing inter-state boundary disputes.

“We have already signed bilateral agreements with Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh as per the instructions of the Union Home Ministry,” he said.

Assam shares an 884.9-km border with Meghalaya, an 804.1-km border with Arunachal Pradesh, a 512.1-km border with Nagaland, a 164.6-km border with Mizoram and a 46.3-km border with Tripura.

The state government has been holding discussions with neighbouring states to address the boundary disputes and work towards mutually acceptable settlements.