Assam Meghalaya Border Dispute
- There are 885 kilometres between Assam and Meghalaya. There are currently 12 boundary disputes between them.
- Upper Tarabari, the Gazang Reserve Forest, Hahim, Langpih, Borduar, Boklapara, Nongwah, Matamur, Khanapara-Pilangkata, Deshdemoreah Block I and Block II, Khanduli, and Retacherra are all impacted by the Assam-Meghalaya border dispute.
- Meghalaya objected to and caused problems with the Assam Reorganisation Act of 1971, which divided it from Assam.
Significant Differing Views:
- The Langpih district in the West Garo Hills, which shares a border with the Kamrup district of Assam, is one of the primary areas of conflict between Assam and Meghalaya.
- During the British colonial era, Langpih was a part of the Kamrup district; however, once the country got its independence, the Garo Hills and Meghalaya took control of it.
- It is regarded as a portion of the Assamese Mikir Hills in Assam.
- Blocks I and II of the Mikir Hills, which are currently a part of Karbi Anglong, have been claimed by Meghalaya to belong to Assam. According to Meghalaya, these were formerly a part of the United Khasi and Jaintia Hills districts.
Resolution of disputes:
- In Assam and Meghalaya, committees have been established to address border disputes.
- There will be five factors considered for settling the border issue. To handle border disputes piecemeal, two regional committees will be formed.
- Among these are factors like proximity to one another geographically, ethnicity, administrative ease, societal attitudes and sentiments, and historical details.
- In the first phase, six sites are considered. These include Tarabari, Gijang, Hahim, Ratacherra, Baklapara, Khanapara-Pilingkata, and Tarapara.
- The disputed areas in Meghalaya are the East Jaintia Hills, Ri Bhoi district, and West Khasi Hills. The three contested areas of Assam are Cachar, Kamrup Metro, and Kamrup Rural.
Border disputes in Assam:
- Assam, which has border issues with numerous states, was largely left out of the creation of the Northeastern states.
- The Supreme Court is examining the border disputes between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland at the moment.
- Assam and Mizoram’s border disputes are currently being settled through negotiations.
Way Forward
- Using satellite technology, the exact locations of the borders can be plotted to resolve border disputes between the governments.
- A different approach to settling an interstate disagreement is to revive the Inter-state council.
- The Inter-state council is empowered by Article 263 of the Constitution to resolve disputes, look into issues that impact all states, and offer suggestions for better policy cooperation.
- Similar to this, it is necessary to reestablish Zonal councils in order to talk about issues that equally impact governments in each zone, such as interstate transportation, border disputes, and social and economic planning.
- India is a wonderful case study in contrasted equilibrium. However, for this unity to be strengthened, cooperative federalism must be used by both the federal government and the state governments.
