Guwahati, Nov 17: The Mizoram government will furnish a list of villages, their areas, geo-spatial extent and ethnicity of people and other relevant information within three months to support their claim on the villages along the border with Assam.
This was agreed upon during the third round of ministerial-level inter-state boundary meeting here on Thursday as both states resolved to set up regional committees which will examine the information provided by the villages as the two states move towards arriving at an amicable resolution of the vexed border issues.
The Assam delegation was led by Assam border protection and development minister Atul Bora while the visiting Mizoram delegation was led by state home minister Lalchamliana.
A joint statement was signed by the two states wherein the Assam government has extended full cooperation wherever sought during the information gathering process.
Among other decisions encapsulated in the joint statement, both sides agreed to abide by the resolutions of the joint statement signed in Aizawl after the first round of ministerial-level talks on August 5, 2021.
Notably, the first meeting was held ten days after clashes between police forces of both states along the border during which six policemen and a civilian died while around 60 persons were injured.
“Both sides agreed to continue their resolve to maintain peace and harmony on the inter-state border among communities living on both sides with a view to further strengthen their age-old ties,” the joint statement signed on Thursday read.
The high-level delegation from Mizoram expressed that there has been huge unrest among the arecanut growers in Mizoram on account of problems being faced in transportation of their produce to Assam and other parts of the country.
Both sides agreed to refer the issue to the respective chief ministers to evolve an amicable solution.
Both sides also agreed to continue a sustained zero-tolerance policy against transportation of smuggled areca nuts from other countries.
Mizoram and Assam, which share a 164.6-km-long inter-state boundary, had a long-standing border dispute.
While Mizoram claims that the 509 square miles stretch of the inner-line reserve forest was notified by the British in 1875 as its actual boundary, Assam maintains that the map prepared by Survey of India in 1933 demarcates its constitutional boundary. However, there is no ground demarcation between the two states.
It may be recalled that Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Mizoram chief minister Zoramthanga had met in New Delhi on September 21, 2022 to review the second ministerial-level meeting on the inter-state border issues held at Aizawl in the previous month.
“The Assam government has, under the strong leadership of chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, initiated concrete steps to resolve the inter-state border issue with Mizoram and foster peace and friendship with the neighbouring state,” Assam border protection and development minister Atul Bora said after the meeting on Thursday.