Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Guwahati: Assam and Arunachal Pradesh officials met for their second regional committee gathering to hash out a boundary dispute dating back to 1951. Ministers Keshab Mahanta of Assam and Balo Raja of Arunachal Pradesh led the talks. They focused on Papum Pare in Arunachal and the Biswanath and Lakhimpur districts in Assam. Progress is moving. The states categorized disputed sites to speed up the fix.
Nine villages fall under Category I. Twenty-two villages hold minor local disputes in Category II. Two complex villages make up Category III. The committee wants boundary pillars in Category I villages immediately. District leaders will handle Category II. Officials will craft a roadmap for the final two sites after consulting locals. "The district administrations have been asked to engage the Survey of India to begin formal boundary demarcation within two months, officials said."
Status quo remains the law of the land. Both states agreed to block fresh encroachments and tree felling in the contested zones. They also plan to scrap FIRs filed against officials from either side. The dispute follows the 1951 transfer of over 3,600 square kilometres from the North-East Frontier Agency to Assam. It turned into a fight once Arunachal gained statehood in 1987. A 2022 Namsai Declaration cut the list of disputed villages from 123 down to 86. The next meeting hits the calendar in late December 2026.
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