SHILLONG, Feb 1: Meghalaya and Assam seem to have finally come to an understanding on the six disputed areas identified by both states.
Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said the Meghalaya government will no longer be required to hold any meeting with its Assam counterpart.
“Now, our next meeting will be with the Union government, which will call us to come to a formal conclusion on these six areas,” he said on Tuesday.
The two state governments have held several meetings since 2021 to resolve the dispute in six of the 12 areas of dispute that were deemed less complicated.
Sangma said that after going through the reports of the regional committees, the government realised there are still some areas that need to be ironed out. A meeting was thus held between the two states on January 29 for agreeing to resolve the issue within certain parameters.
Sangma and Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma had in January met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and apprised him of the reports of the regional panels.
Sangma said the Ministry of Home Affairs will examine the reports.
The six disputed locations on the talks table are Tarabari, Gizang, Hahim, Boklapara, Khanapara-Pillangkata and Ratacherra. These areas fall under the Cachar, Kamrup and Kamrup Metropolitan districts of Assam and the West Khasi Hills, Ri-Bhoi and East Jaintia Hills districts of Meghalaya.
Rambrai-Jyrngam MLA and a member of the West Khasi Hills regional committee, Kimfa Marbaniang said the process of inspection and survey was done in a hasty and improper manner, which might make the state lose land in three to four areas. “The survey was not done properly by both the committees, whose members visited when most of the people were in the fields. The sudden visits meant the views and opinions were many were not taken,” he said.
Stating that people in places like Malsapara and Salbari were aware of the visit by the committee members, he said: “Most of the people from Assam, especially from Rabha Autonomous District Council came for the meetings and said they wanted to be in Assam. But the fact is, the Garo people want to be in Meghalaya.”
Marbaniang said the committee had no option but to go with the views of the people who preferred to stay with Assam.
Asked if he had raised the issue with the chairperson of the committee and the state government, he said: “Many times. We wanted to go slow in some areas in order to be able to meet all the people, but the government wanted a decision in three to four months.”
Referring to the report, he said the committee members visited 36 villages whose residents wanted to be in Meghalaya. “But now, it seems the areas we could not visit for survey might go to Assam,” he added.
Apart from Malsapara and Salbari, the people of Tutia Bazaar and Hahim wanted to be in Assam. “Other areas like Malangsalbari, Malangjaipur and Huwapara might go to Assam while Meghalaya might gain in the Upper Tarabari area,” the MLA said.
Likewise in the Ri-Bhoi district, Gizang Reserve Forest will go to Assam. “We did not go for inspection in that area,” he said.
Marbaniang said the intent to resolve the vexed boundary issue could either be genuine or a political stunt ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections. “If we really want to solve the border issue, we should have completed all the 12 areas of differences to know what is ours and what is theirs. If we give them (Assam) more time, we might lose more land in the other six areas,” he added.
