AIZAWL, 9 Dec: Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma on Friday said his government will set up a state-level boundary committee to deal with border issues with neighbouring states.
Mizoram shares a 325-km boundary with Assam in the north, Manipur in the east and Tripura in the west.
Speaking to reporters after taking oath as the chief minister, Lalduhoma said that safeguarding the state’s boundary is one of the priorities of his government.
“A boundary committee will be formed and our leaders will take steps to ensure that all stakeholders are involved in the committee,” he said.
Mizoram has negligible border disputes with Manipur and Tripura. However, the state has decades-old border dispute with Assam, which has remained unresolved till today, officials said.
Three Mizoram districts – Aizawl, Kolasib and Mamit – share a 164-km boundary with Assam’s Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi districts, they added.
The border dispute between the two neighbouring states stemmed out of two colonial demarcations in 1875 and 1933. While Mizoram claims that 509 square-miles (1,318 square kilometres) of the inner line reserved forest notified in 1875 under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR) 1873 as its actual boundary, Assam on the other hand regards the map prepared by Survey of India in 1933 as its constitutional boundary.
The border dispute had 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. More than 60 people from both states were also injured in the clash.
Mizoram and Assam have held three rounds of ministerial-level talks to resolve the long pending interstate border dispute since August 2021.
Besides, the two neighbouring states have also held virtual meetings on several occasions.
Mizoram ex-CM Zoramthanga and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had also met twice in New Delhi in November 2021 and September last year to find an amicable solution to the border dispute. (PTI)