SHILLONG, Aug 5: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma are set to meet in Guwahati on Friday for the second round of CM-level talks to discuss the vexed boundary dispute.
The two chief ministers had in their first meeting in Shillong on July 23 decided to go beyond the “status quo” maintained by both the states for a lasting solution to the decades-old dispute.
Sources said the chief minister, who flew from Bengaluru, and his Cabinet colleagues barring James Sangma and Hamletson Dohling have reached Guwahati for the talks.
Ahead of the talks, Revenue Minister Kyrmen Shylla advised the border residents to register their land with the state government.
He said that when people do not register their land, it becomes difficult for both the states to resolve the matter even as he hoped that the meeting will ultimately result in a win-win situation for both the states.
“The border residents should register their land according to rates fixed by the respective Deputy Commissioners,” Shylla said.
Earlier, PHE Minister Renikton Lyngdoh Tongkhar had stressed the need to explore the possibilities of reducing the stamp duty fee as the rate of registering land is too high for the people.
“Reducing the fee would encourage people to come forward for land registration,” he said.
Prior to the second round of meeting, the Meghalaya government had formed regional committees for Jaintia Hills, West Khasi Hills and Ri-Bhoi districts that share a boundary with Assam. Members of these committees had recently visited the disputed areas to assess the ground situation and gave their feedback to the government.
