Aizawl: In an effort toward finding an amicable solution to the border dispute, Mizoram and Assam on Wednesday agreed to maintain cordial relations between police forces of both states posted along the inter-state border, an official statement said.
Both sides also agreed to take measures to ensure that economic activities continue undisturbed along the borders and farmers are allowed to work on their farms on either side of the border, the statement said.
As decided in the ministerial level-talk held on August 9, deputy commissioners of five border districts – two from Mizoram and three from Assam, on Wednesday held a meeting at a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp on the Mizoram-Assam border to discuss the border issue.
In the meeting, it was agreed to maintain cordial and friendly relations between police personnel of both states posted along the inter-state boundary. A decision to ensure that farmers on either side of the borders are allowed to carry out cultivation and other economic activities freely was also taken during the meeting.
The meeting, which was attended by other officials from both states and CRPF officers apart from DCs, also deliberated a wide range of issues, including forging collective efforts to protect forest areas along the border of both states, to prevent hunting and illegal transportation of wild animals along the border and to felicitate selling of Mizoram grown areca nuts in the neighbouring states.
The meeting deliberated about the issue of the ongoing construction of bridges near Mizoram’s Thinghlun village and Zophai on the Mizoram-Assam border by Mizoram and agreed to approach higher authorities to resolve the major problems on the issue. Three Mizoram’s districts- Aizawl, Kolasib and Mamit- share a 164.6 km long boundary with Assam’s Hailakandi, Karimganj and Cachar districts.
The border dispute between the two states is a long standing issue, which stemmed from two colonial demarcations- 1875 and 1933. Mizoram held that a 509 square miles stretch of inner line reserved forest notified in 1875 under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR) 1873, a certain section of which now falls under Assam, is the actual boundary of the state.
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Assam on the other hand, claimed that the boundary as per survey of India’s map in 1933 is the constitutional boundary of the state. Certain areas, which are now occupied by Mizoram, fall under the 1933 demarcation. However, there are no proper ground demarcations between the two neighbouring states especially after Mizoram was carved out as a Union Territory from Assam in 1972.
The border dispute turned ugly on July 26 last year when police forces of the two neighbouring states exchanged fire near Vairengte on the NH-306 leading to the death of six policemen and a civilian from Assam.
Around 60 people were also injured in the violent clash.
On August 9, both the states held ministerial -level meeting in Aizawl and agreed to promote and maintain peace along the borders.
According to a joint statement signed at the talks, both parties agreed to hold meetings of deputy commissioners of bordering districts at least once in two months.
Both sides had also agreed that economic activities, including cultivation and farming, which have been practised by the people on either side of the borders should not be disturbed and decided to hold the next round of talks in October.
Earlier on August 9, Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga and his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma had agreed to hold chief minister-level talks in Delhi either in the last part of August or early September to resolve the vexed border dispute.
Both the leaders had already met once in Delhi last year under the chairmanship of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
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