The regional committees formed to look into the ongoing border dispute between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh will conclude a joint visit to the border area by the end of the month.
The chief ministers of the two states, Himanta Biswa Sharma of Assam and Pema Khandu of Arunachal Pradesh, signed the Namsai Declaration on July 15 in an attempt to defuse the seven-decade-old border dispute between the two states. The two states agreed to reduce the number of disputed villages from 123 to 86. It was also decided that 12 regional committees have been constituted in each state for joint verification of disputed areas, they will submit their first phase reports. By September 15, the two sides reached a consensus.
Details of the argument made for-
A border dispute between the two states began in 1873 when the British introduced the Inner-Line Regulations, creating an imaginary boundary between the plains and hilly areas north of Assam. Inner-line regulations, which still exist, require people from outside Arunachal Pradesh to obtain a permit before entering the state.
This area, first referred to as the North East Frontier Tracts, was later renamed the North East Frontier Agency (NEFA) and remained under the administrative jurisdiction of Assam.
In 1972, NEFA was renamed Arunachal Pradesh and given the status of a union territory. It became a state in 1987. But before it got its present boundaries, a committee headed by former Assam Chief Minister Gopinath Bordoloi transferred about 3,650 sq km of land, which was earlier with NEFA, to Assam.
Arunachal Pradesh does not recognize this transfer, arguing that it was done without consultation with the people or the administration of NEFA.
Apart from Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh, Assam has border disputes with Mizoram and Nagaland, which were created from these states.
