Mizoram, Assam CMs to hold border talks on September 19 | Popgen Tech

Mizoram police personnel take up positions in a newly constructed bunker between Assam’s Lailapur and Mizoram’s Vairengte in a disputed country on National Highway No. 306. File | Photo credit: Ritu Raj Konwar

Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga and his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma will hold talks on September 19 to find an amicable solution to the border dispute between the two northeastern states, an official said on Friday.

The CMO official, who is accompanying Zoramthanga to New Delhi, said the meeting will be held in the national capital but the venue is yet to be decided.

“The two chief ministers spoke on phone on Friday and decided to hold a meeting on the border issue on September 19 in New Delhi,” the official said. PTI.

A meeting on the issue was earlier held in November last year in New Delhi in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

In a telephone conversation earlier on August 10 this year, the two Chief Ministers decided to hold the talks in late August or early September.

Three districts in Mizoram – Aizawl, Kolasib, and Mamit – share a 164.6-km-long border with three districts in Assam: Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj.

The long-standing border dispute between the two neighboring States stems from the colonial demarcations of 1875 and 1933.

Mizoram claims that a stretch of 509 square miles within the inner line of forest reserve notified in 1875 under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR) 1873, a certain section of which now falls in Assam, is the present boundary of the State.

Assam, on the other hand, claims that the boundary according to the survey of India map in 1933 is the constitutional boundary of the State.

Certain areas, which are now in Mizoram, fell under the delimitation of 1933.

The border dispute between Mizoram and Assam turned ugly on July 26 last year when the police forces of the 2 States engaged in a gunfight, leading to the death of seven people, including six Assam policemen, and injuries to around 60 people.

After the violent clash, delegations from both States held a meeting at the ministerial level on August 5 last year and decided to maintain peace on the border between the States and resolve the dispute through dialogue.

So far, the delegations have held two rounds of talks in Aizawl and three virtual meetings.

In the last meeting held on August 9, both delegations agreed to maintain peace and take necessary measures to prevent any untoward incident on the border.

They also decided to meet again in Guwahati next month.

Last week, the Mizoram State Boundary Committee unanimously approved an “Approach Document” to be tabled in the next round of talks as the government’s stand on the border.