From Our Correspondent
GUWAHATI: Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi has said that he was not perturbed over neighbouring Meghalaya’s claim over his official residence atop Koinadhara Hillock at Khanapara area in the city along Assam-Meghalaya boundary even as the Opposition political parties on Thursday demanded constitution of an all-party House Committee led by the Speaker to explore ways to prevent ‘encroachment’ of Assam land by Meghalaya.
Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) legislator Keshab Mahanta raising the issue in the state Assembly on Thursday stated that neighbouring Meghalaya not only claimed the CM’s official residence on disputed land but also stakes claim over 40.63 hectares of land in Kamrup Metropolitan District that include even Assam Assembly complex.
The AGP legislator called upon the government to take a serious note of the development in the wake of Meghalaya’s claim over Assam land in Kamrup (Metro) district and demanded constitution of an all-party House Committee headed by Assembly Speaker to look into the matter as well as to recommend ways to protect Assam land from being encroached upon by neighbouring states.
Earlier, in reaction to reports about Meghalaya staking claim over the plot o land on which his official residence is located in Guwahati, chief minister Tarun Gogoi said he was not much bothered about it.
Assam has aged-old disputes over land with Meghalaya and both the state have been trying to hammer out the dispute through the process of negotiation. In fact, a process of negotiation is now on at the chief secretary level between the two states to resolve the border row.
Not only with Meghalaya, the state faces border disputes with almost every neighbourng states including Negaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram.