AIZAWL, 21 Jan: The Mizoram government has formed a study group headed by an expert from the Mizoram University (MZU) to study and collect relevant information on its claimed border areas to be furnished to Assam government, an official statement said.
The study group was the follow-up of a decision made during the border talks between Mizoram and Assam held at Guwahati in November last year.
The meeting of a boundary committee chaired by Mizoram Home Minister Lalchamliana on Friday appointed Prof J Doungel, a political science teacher from the MZU, as the study group’s convener, while joint secretary in the home department Lalthiamsanga was appointed as member secretary, the official statement said.
The study group will study and collect the list of villages, their areas, geo-spatial extent, and ethnicity of the people and other relevant information to support its claim on the state’s boundary.
During the border talks held on 17 November last year, both states had decided that Mizoram will furnish the list of villages, their areas, geo-spatial extent, and ethnicity of the people and other relevant information within three months to support its claim, which can be examined by setting up regional committees from both sides to arrive at an amicable resolution to the vexed border issues.
The boundary committee involving political parties and other stakeholders was formed by the government after the violent clash in July 2021.
It is the highest authority on issues related to Mizoram-Assam boundary.
The meeting also decided that other members will also be appointed in the study group as necessary, besides land revenue and settlement, environment, forest & climate change departments and the Mizoram Remote Sensing Application Centre officials.
Lalchamliana told the meeting that Mizoram is firm on the inner line reserved forest notified in 1875 as its boundary.
Mizoram shares a 164.6-km-long border with Assam.
The border dispute between the two states is a longstanding and vexed issue which has remained unresolved for decades.
The border dispute turned ugly on 26 July, 2021, when police forces of both states exchanged fire, leading to the death of six policemen and a civilian from Assam. (PTI)