SHILLONG, May 25: The Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) has urged the state government to include all the stakeholders, including traditional bodies and autonomous district councils, while moving ahead with resolving the remaining six areas of differences in the second phase of interstate border talks with Assam.
Speaking to media persons here, KSU president Lambokstarwell Marngar said that many were unhappy and had raised questions after the MoU was inked between the two states in the first phase or the boundary talks.
Stating that border residents had raised strong objections to the MoU, as per which many areas falling under Meghalaya have gone to Assam, Marngar said, “We have demanded from the government to again review the MoU since there are many things which need to be rectified. But till now we have not heard anything from the government to our demand.”
Arguing that albeit the KSU is in favour of an end to decades-long boundary dispute between Meghalaya and Assam, Marngar, however, suggested that the state government should not hastily arrive at a conclusion in the second phase of the boundary talks.
“The involvement of all the stakeholders is a must to find a permanent solution which is acceptable to everyone. I hope that the government will not commit the same mistake by ignoring the important stakeholders while finalising the agreement of Phase II like they had done in Phase I,” Marngar said.
The KSU president said that the views of the Himas, land owners and the district councils are very critical if the government is serious in resolving the interstate boundary dispute once and for all.
It may be mentioned Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma and his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma had kick-started the second phase of boundary talks between the two states in Guwahati on Wednesday.
In the second phase of boundary settlement, the two states will try to resolve the differences in Langpih, Borduar, Desh Doomreah, Block-I, Block-II, Psiar-Khanduli, and Nongwah-Mawtamur.
