Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Monday informed that he has proposed to his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma to resolve the vexed boundary issue permanently outside the court. At present, the Assam-Arunachal boundary dispute is sub judice in the Supreme Court. This is a step in the right direction. Due to the long-pending boundary dispute, the relation between Assam and Arunachal continues to remain tense. Often, conflict arises over boundary issues. Some of them have turned bloody, like the one witnessed in Tarasso a few years ago. The SC is taking too long to settle this long-pending issue.
Therefore, the proposal of CM Khandu to work out a solution outside the perimeter of the court should be given serious thought. What makes the situation conducive is that the BJP is ruling in Assam and Arunachal and at the Centre. This will help to develop better coordination. However, any such settlement will have to be worked keeping in mind the long-term interests of the state. Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma is known to be a shrewd negotiator. He might use the situation to the advantage of Assam. Nevertheless, CM Pema Khandu has taken a positive step by suggesting to his counterpart to look for an option for out-of-court settlement. The Assam CM has assured to get back. Let’s now wait and see how serious Sarma is regarding resolving the boundary dispute.