Mizoram, Assam CMs to discuss border dispute on Sep 19

Aizawl, Sep 16: Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga and his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma will hold talks on September 19 to find an amicable solution to the border dispute between the two northeastern states, an official said on Friday.

The CMO official, who is accompanying Zoramthanga in New Delhi, said the meeting will take place in the national capital but the venue is yet to be decided.

"The two chief ministers conversed over the phone on Friday and decided to hold a meeting on the border issue on September 19 in New Delhi," the official told PTI.

They had earlier held a meeting on the issue in November last year in New Delhi in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

In an earlier telephonic conversation on August 10 this year, the two chief ministers had decided to hold the talks in the later part of August or early September.

Three districts of Mizoram -- Aizawl, Kolasib and Mamit -- share a 164.6-km-long border with three districts of Assam: Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj.

The long-standing border dispute between the two neighbouring states stems from two colonial demarcations of 1875 and 1933.

Mizoram holds that a 509 square mile stretch of inner line reserved forest notified in 1875 under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR) 1873, a certain section of which now falls in Assam, is the actual boundary of the state.

Assam, on the other hand, claims that the boundary as per survey of India's map in 1933 is the constitutional boundary of the state.

Certain areas, which are now in Mizoram, fall under the 1933 demarcation.

The border dispute between Mizoram and Assam turned ugly on July 26 last year when police forces of the two states engaged in a gunfight, leading to the death of seven people, including six policemen from Assam, and injuries to around 60 people.

Following the violent clash, the delegations of both the states held a ministerial-level meeting on August 5 last year and decided to maintain peace along the inter-state boundary and resolve the dispute through dialogue.

So far, the delegations have held two rounds of talks in Aizawl and three virtual meetings.

In the last meeting held on August 9, both the delegations agreed to maintain peace and take necessary measures to prevent any untoward incident along the border.

They had also decided to meet again in Guwahati next month.

Last week, Mizoram State Boundary Committee had unanimously approved an "Approach Paper" to be tabled in the next round of talks as the government's standpoint on the boundary.