Assam, Arunachal sign pact to resolve boundary issues

New Delhi: The governments of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh have signed an agreement to resolve the decades old boundary issues between both the states.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Arunachal Pradesh counterpart Pema Khandu, in presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju and other dignitaries at the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in the North Block here.

The latest development comes following a meeting between both the CMs of the North Eastern states on boundary issues in Guwahati recently.

Speaking on the occasion, Shah said, "Today’s agreement will prove to be a milestone in the direction of realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dream of a developed, peaceful and conflict-free Northeast."

The Home Minister said the boundary settlement would usher in allround development and peace in the Northeastern region .

Shah said, "This will prove to be auspicious for the entire region including both the states and will open new doors of development."

"This is a huge achievement," the Home Minister said as he appreciated the efforts of Sarma and Khandu in resolving this long pending issue.

The agreement between the two Northeastern states will end the dispute relating to 123 villages along the border, the Home Ministry said in a statement.

Both the governments have agreed that this agreement will be final with regards to these 123 disputed villages and neither of the states will make any new claim related to any area or village in future, it said.

The Central government under the leadership of PM Modi has always been acting as a facilitator for amicable settlement of inter-state border disputes with the active cooperation of the concerned state governments, the statement said.

The Assam CM termed the signing of the MoU as historic and said that would bring peace and prosperity in the region.

"This is a historic day. After 51 years, one of India’s longest running inter-state dispute comes to a decisive end. Today's agreement with Arunachal Pradesh is in line with similar efforts made with Meghalaya in last 2 years," Sarma said.

The CM said, "This will boost the spirit of bonhomie in North East and strengthen our federal structure as it brings a new paradigm to resolve differences between states."

He also expressed hope that boundary issues with Mizoram and Nagaland will also be resolved.

The Arunachal Pradesh CM in his address termed the settlement of boundary between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh as momentous and historic and exuded optimism that it would bring about a sea change on the peace and development front.

Later in a tweet, Khandu said, "The contributions of community based organizations (CBOs) - in creating a congenial atmosphere to expedite the process of resolving border issues with Assam can't be undermined. We thank all CBOs profusely for reposing their trust in the government."

"History has been made.The 51 long years inter-state dispute comes to an end with the blessings of PM Narendra Modi Ji and under the supervision of Amit Shah Ji," Rijiju said referring to signing of the agreement.

Assam shares a boundary of over 800 km with Arunachal Pradesh.

Last year, Assam and Meghalaya had signed an MoU in the month of March to resolve boundary disputes between both the states. They had agreed to resolve six out of the 12 areas spread across around 39 sq km. (UNI)