GUWAHATI: The deputy commissioners of West Khasi Hills, Ri Bhoi and Kamrup districts had a meeting on Wednesday and decided to allow “mutually beneficial” development activities in the districts to go unhindered subject to prior intimation.
The meeting took place at the Kamrup DC’s office at Amingaon near here and was also attended by the respective superintendants of police of the three districts.
Kamrup district in Assam shares boundaries with both West Khasi Hills and Ri Bhoi districts in Meghalaya.
Speaking to The Shillong Times here on Thursday, Kamrup deputy commissioner, Kailash Karthik N said the meeting discussed border issues concerning the three districts threadbare besides exchanging viewpoints after examining the land records and other documentary evidence provided by the Survey of India maps.
“Among others, we focused on border issues in areas under Boko revenue circle such as Langpih (Lampi) and Balang, and shared our points of view in regard to the current situation and the measures to be taken to ensure peace and stability in the area. Issues which can only be solved at the political level were left out, but at our level, we decided to maintain status quo along the areas of differences while allowing development activities to go on, subject to prior intimation and mutual agreement,” Karthik said.
The meeting between the DCs was necessitated in the wake of the construction of a kutcha road from Mokaibari (near Lower Langpih) to Sundarpur being kept on hold since August 25. A meeting was held on that day between the additional deputy commissioners of Kamrup and West Khasi Hills districts at the border outpost in Langpih.
Two residents of Lower Langpih had filed an FIR regarding the alleged assault and harassment by officials from West Khasi district during the road construction on August 13 last.
Asked whether the work on the partially constructed 2.5km kutcha road could resume now, the Kamrup DC reiterated that “development work, which benefits both Assam and Meghalaya, could go on unhindered after prior intimation.
“There are differences of opinion in the concerned area, but we decided that development activities would continue as it benefits both the sides. In fact, the decision of maintaining border sovereignty or status quo while permitting development work with prior intimation was taken at an earlier meeting at the chief ministerial level,” he said.