The Assam-Meghalaya boundary dispute resolution

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Last Updated31/03/2022

Assam and Meghalaya partially resolved a 50-year-old dispute along their 884.9 km boundary.
A historic agreement was signed between Assam CM and his Meghalaya counterpart.
It is expected to pave the way for resolving disputes in the remaining sectors of the Assam-Meghalaya boundary and similar areas of difference between Assam and three other northeastern States.

Meghalaya was carved out of Assam as an autonomous State in 1970 and became a full-fledged State in 1972.
The creation of the new State was based on the Assam Reorganisation (Meghalaya) Act of 1969, which the Meghalaya government refused to accept because it followed the recommendations of a 1951 committee to define the boundary of Meghalaya.
On that panel’s recommendations, areas of the present-day East Jaintia Hills, Ri-Bhoi and West Khasi Hills districts of Meghalaya were transferred to the Karbi Anglong, Kamrup (metro) and Kamrup districts of Assam.
Meghalaya contested these transfers after statehood, claiming that they belonged to its tribal chieftains.
After claims and counter-claims, the dispute was narrowed down to 12 sectors on the basis of an official claim by Meghalaya in 2011.

The two States initially tried resolving the border dispute through negotiations.
May 1983: Formed a joint official committee to address the issue.
1983: committee suggested that the Survey of India should re-delineate the boundary with the cooperation of both the States towards settling the dispute.
Justice Y.V. Chandrachud Committee(1985): submitted its report in 1987 and Meghalaya rejected it as it was allegedly pro-Assam.
January 1991: Two governments agreed to jointly demarcate the border with the help of the Survey of India.
About 100 km of the border was demarcated by the end of 1991, but Meghalaya found the exercise unconstitutional and refused to cooperate.
2011: Meghalaya Assembly passed a resolution for central intervention and the constitution of a boundary commission.
The Centre made the two governments appoint nodal officers to discuss the boundary dispute to minimise the points of difference.
2019: Meghalaya government petitioned the SC to direct the Centre to settle the dispute but it was dismissed.

January 2021: MHA urged all the north-eastern States to resolve their boundary disputes by August 15, 2022, when the country celebrates 75 years of Independence.
June 2021: Two States decided to resume talks at the CM level and adopt a “give-and-take” policy to settle the disputes once and for all.
Of the 12 disputed sectors, six “less complicated” areas were chosen for resolution in the first phase.
Both States formed three regional committees, one each for a district affected by the disputed sectors.
These committees were given “five principles” for approaching the issue.
These principles are historical facts of a disputed sector, ethnicity, administrative convenience, willingness of people and contiguity of land preferably with natural boundaries such as rivers, streams and rocks.
In January the two governments signed a draft resolution prepared on the basis of the recommendations of these regional panels.
This paved the way for the closure of the six disputed sectors.

According to the partial boundary deal, Assam will get 18.51 sq. km of the 36.79 sq. km disputed area while Meghalaya will get the remaining 18.28 sq. km.
There is no clarity yet on the villages or uninhabited stretches that would be divided.
Residents in six disputed sectors feel the “give-and-take” template could be disastrous for them.
Non-tribal people fear that they would end up living in a tribal Meghalaya with no rights.
The apprehension is similar for residents of Assam in disputed areas along the border with other States.
Apart from Meghalaya, the other States are Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and West Bengal.

Inter-state border issues are a major challenge to the internal security architecture of India. Examine.