Arunachal CM meets regional committees on border dispute with Assam

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu, on September 26 held a review meeting, focusing on the Assam-Arunachal border dispute.

The review meet was held with six regional committees regarding the decades-old border dispute. 

The regional committees were formed to expedite the identification and resolution of disputed areas along the 804.1-km inter-state boundary, following the historic Namsai Declaration signed on July 15, 2022, where the chief ministers of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam agreed to end the decades-old border issue. 

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his counterpart Khandu had on July 15, 2022, signed the Namsai Declaration, agreeing to restrict the number of contested villages to 86 instead of 123. The regional panels of six disputed districts include Pakke Kessang, Papum Pare, Kamle, Lower Siang, Lower Dibang Valley and Longding districts, officials said. 

"This 70-year-old boundary issue has persisted for too long, and we are committed to resolving it once and for all. I have directed the regional committees to work closely with their Assam counterparts. If we can achieve consensus on the ground, we can pave the way for lasting peace between the people of both states," Khandu said on X. 

"This is a golden opportunity for us to end this long-standing dispute. Without resolution, true peace will remain elusive," Khandu added. 

Arunachal Pradesh, which became a Union Territory in 1972, has maintained that several forested tracts in the plains traditionally belonged to hill tribal chiefs and communities and these were "unilaterally" transferred to Assam earlier. 

After Arunachal Pradesh achieved statehood in 1987, a tripartite committee was appointed, which recommended that certain territories be transferred from Assam. Assam contested this and the matter was in the Supreme Court for a long time.