How ‘Give & take’ formula resolved Assam & Meghalaya agreement on a 50-year-old boundary dispute

New Delhi, Mar 29: In order to resolve their 50-year old pending boundary differences, Assam and Meghalaya signed an agreement today in New Delhi in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The agreement was signed this evening by the chief ministers of Assam and Meghalaya, Himanta Biswa Sarma, and Conrad Sangma, respectively.

According to the proposed recommendations for the 36.79 square km of land, Assam will keep 18.51 square km and give the remaining 18.28 square km to Meghalaya.

The decades-old border dispute between Assam and Meghalaya was resolved using a formula of "give and take" between the two neighbouring northeastern states.

"Our efforts to resolve Assam-Meghalaya border row have started bearing fruits as 6 of the 12 areas of difference have been identified for resolution in the first phase. During an interaction, (I) briefed representatives of all political parties on the progress made so far," Sarma tweeted on Tuesday.

"The areas of difference taken up for settlement are Hahim, Gizang, Tarabari, Boklapara, Khanapara-Pilingkata and Ratacherra. A roadmap for amicable settlement has been prepared based on recommendations of 3 regional committees with representatives from both the states," he added.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the Chief Ministers of Assam and Meghalaya on January 29 and was submitted to the Union Home Minister Amit Shah on January 31, for examination and consideration by the MHA.

The long-standing land dispute was sparked in 1972 when Meghalaya was carved out of Assam. The border issues came as a result of different readings of the demarcation of boundaries in the initial agreement for the new states creation.

The boundary disputes evolved over a period of time. The numerous high-level meetings between the two states in the past had always ended with a resolution to maintain the status quo.

On January 29 this year, the two states had signed a memorandum of understanding. It is expected to yield the principles for the next phase of discussions on the remaining six areas, considered complicated.