The long-standing inter-state border dispute between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh has been resolved.
On Thursday, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Arunachal Chief Minister Pema Khandu signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the presence of Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi
During this, Amit Shah said that the signing of the settlement agreement is a huge achievement. Today we have crossed the milestone of establishing a developed, peaceful and conflict-free North East.
According to the media reports, the decision was taken during a meeting of the state cabinet in Guwahati, chaired by Chief Minister Sarma.
Earlier in March 2022, the Assam and Meghalaya government resolved the 50-year-old border dispute by signing an agreement.
Since 1979, Arunachal Pradesh claimed 1,000 square km of Assam plains. There is an 804.1 km long border between Arunachal and Assam.
Arunachal Pradesh was carved out of Assam in 1972. Between 1972 and 1979, 396 km border was fixed, but there was a dispute over the survey and the work got stuck.
A 1951 notification was implemented, which Arunachal was not accepting.
In 1951, the Central Government formed the Bordoloi Committee. This committee recommended the transfer of 3,648 km of plains (today’s Darrang, Dhemaji and Jonoi districts) to Assam.
Arunachal says it was not consulted in the process. The plains that have been given to Assam are inhabited by the people of Arunachal and they have custom and traditional rights over these areas. It was also recognized by the Ahom rulers of the region.
In 1979, both the governments formed a joint committee, but no solution was found. In 1983, Arunachal sent a proposal to Assam asking for 956 sq km of land.
In 1989, the Assam government filed a civil suit in the Supreme Court in this matter.
In 2007, before the Tarun Chatterjee Commission, Arunachal claimed an area increased from 956 sq km to 1,119.2 sq km in the proposal. In 2009, Assam rejected this claim.
The Chatterjee Commission is said to have accepted 70%-80% of Arunachal’s claims. After this, between 2005 and 2014, there was tension and violence in both the states.
