Assam-Meghalaya border dispute: First boundary pillar erected

Amid the decades-old border row between Assam and Meghalaya, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma informed that the first boundary pillar in one of the disputed areas has been erected along the inter-state boundary.

He said these "pillars of clarity and peace" will bring governance to "once grey areas".

"First boundary pillar erected along Assam-Meghalaya border", a step towards "the on-ground execution of 2022 agreement", Sarma said in a post on X.

The Assam chief minister, however, did not specify the location.

Sarma said when Meghalaya was carved out of Assam in 1972, "a significant portion of its boundary with Assam was left ambiguous, often leading to chaos and tension between our states".

"Fifty years later, in 2022 under the leadership of Adarniya @narendramodi Ji and in the presence of Adarniya @AmitShah Ji, our two states signed a historic MoU to begin defining our boundaries," he wrote on X, referring to the agreement the two states had signed in the national capital.

Sarma added that six out of 12 disputed areas have been resolved and "fruits of that agreement are now flowing in as the first pillars get erected".

"So, how do these pillars improve harmony between us, sister states? People and administration on both sides now have exact clarity on jurisdiction. Governance can finally shine in these 'once grey areas'," Sarma added, tagging his Meghalaya counterpart Conrad Sangma.

The two chief ministers, at a joint press conference here on June 2, had announced that border pillars would be erected in five of the disputed areas by Independence Day.

On the sixth area of dispute, which was included in the 2022 agreement, they had said that it related to Pilingkata area and there was some "difference of interpretation", which the deputy commissioners of both states would sit and discuss.

Sarma had added that both states decided to take forward discussions on the other six disputed sites, but no timeframe has been fixed for completing them.

Assam and Meghalaya have a longstanding dispute in 12 areas along the 884.9-km-long interstate border.

The two states had signed an agreement in March 2022 in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi towards ending the disputes in six areas.

Out of 36.79 sq km of disputed areas taken up for settlement in the first phase at six places, Assam got 18.46 sq km and Meghalaya received 18.33 sq km.

Meghalaya was carved out of Assam in 1972 and has since then challenged the Assam Reorganisation Act, 1971, which is recognised by Assam as its border.