Mizoram-Assam: CMs to hold border talks in Delhi on September 19

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

The CMO official accompanying Zoramthanga in New Delhi stated that the meeting would be held in the national capital, but the location has yet to be determined.

"The two chief ministers spoke on the phone on Friday and agreed to meet on the border issue on September 19 in New Delhi," an official told PTI. 

In November of last year, they met in New Delhi with Union Home Minister Amit Shah to discuss the issue. The two chief ministers agreed to hold the talks in late August or early September during a phone conversation on August 10 this year.

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

The two neighbouring states' long-standing border dispute stems from two colonial demarcations in 1875 and 1933.

Mizoram claims that the state's actual boundary is a 509 square mile stretch of inner line reserved forest notified in 1875 under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR) 1873, a portion of which now falls in Assam. In contrast, Assam claims that the boundary established by a survey of India's map in 1933 is the state's constitutional boundary. Certain areas that are now in Mizoram are part of the 1933 boundary.

On July 26, last year, police forces from Mizoram and Assam engaged in a gunfight, resulting in the deaths of seven people, including six Assam police officers, and the injuries of approximately 60 people.

Following the violent clash, both states' delegations met at the ministerial level 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 met in Aizawl twice and virtually three times. Both delegations agreed to keep the peace and take the necessary precautions along the border at their most recent meeting on August 9.

They also agreed to meet again next month in Guwahati. Last week, the Mizoram State Boundary Committee unanimously approved an "Approach Paper" to be tabled as the government's position on the boundary in the next round of talks.

(With inputs from PTI)

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