Shillong, July 18: The official talks between Meghalaya and Assam towards resolving their long-pending interstate boundary dispute is likely to take place anytime soon.
During their unofficial meeting in Guwahati on Saturday, Chief Minister, Conrad K Sangma and his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma were keen to convene the CM-level talks at the earliest.
Cabinet Ministers Banteidor Lyngdoh and Hamletson Dohling of People’s Democratic Front (PDF) and Chairman of State Planning Board, Chairman Lambor Malngiang had accompanied Sangma during the meeting.
Lyngdoh on Sunday told The Shillong Times that both CMs were keen on the resumption of official talks.
“The date of the Chief Minister-level talks will be decided by the two CMs,” Lyngdoh said, adding the unofficial meeting was very positive.
“It was nice to see that he (Sarma) was very keen to resolve this long-pending issue, which will be in the best interest of the people of the two neighbouring states,” Lyngdoh said.
He said the details of modalities will be deliberated upon during the CM-level talks. “The meeting on Saturday was not an official one. It was kind of a courtesy visit,” he said.
Lyngdoh also said that he and Dohling had met Sarma in 2019. “We had then urged him if the boundary dispute could be resolved amicably,” Lyngdoh said.
He expressed happiness that they were able to raise the issue again as Sarma now occupies the CM’s chair.
“It is high time that Meghalaya and Assam have proper boundaries,” Lyngdoh added.
At a meeting on Friday, the ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance had discussed the issue. Chief Minister Sangma had said a lot of informal discussions are needed on the dispute.
“I don’t want to show the cards right now but a lot of homework has gone into how we plan to move forward on this. At this point in time, it will not be proper to discuss those details but we are focusing on the fact that whatever solution we come up with must be amicable and acceptable to the people of both states,” he had stated.
