By PTI
AIZAWL: Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga on Monday said his government and the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led dispensation in Assam are committed to resolve the long-pending border dispute between the two northeastern states.
Both the chief ministers had recently discussed the border issues in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi, he said.
During the meeting with the union home minister, Mizoram and Assam governments had agreed to form their teams involving all stakeholders to resolve the border dispute through dialogue, Zoramthanga said.
“We decided to constitute teams comprising representatives of opposition parties and NGOs to discuss the border issues. We are committed to maintain peace along the inter-state boundary,” he told reporters here.
Both the states have also agreed to hold discussions at the chief minister-level from time to time, he said.
Zoramthanga said the inter-state border dispute between Mizoram and Assam is a “long-pending issue which needs more time to be solved”.
“We may not be able to resolve it within the next two years of our rule. But Mizoram and Assam are committed to find a solution at the earliest,” he said.
Asked whether the state government will claim a 509 square-mile stretch of the inner-line reserve forest notified in 1875 under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation of 1873 or not, Zoramthanga said the boundary commission formed under the chairmanship of Deputy Chief Minister Tawnluia has been entrusted to make a standpoint on the issue.
“As of now, the relation between the two states is very cordial,” he said.
Meanwhile, Joint Action Committee on Inner Line Reserve Forest, a civil society organisation, has urged the Mizoram government to take measures to reclaim the 509 square-mile stretch of the reserve forest from Assam.
Three Mizoram districts – Aizawl, Mamit and Kolasib – share a 164.6-km long boundary with Assam’s Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj districts.
The border dispute between the two northeastern states is a long-pending issue, which stemmed from two demarcations during the colonial period.
It took an ugly turn on July 26 when police forces of the two states exchanged fire near Vairengte town.
