Assam-Arunachal boundary settlement
Staff Reporter
TANAGAR, Mar 12: Chief Minister Pema Khandu informed the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday that the reason Changlang district missed the Namsai Declaration bus on boundary settlement with Assam was because the district administration of Changlang had failed to submit the report to the local commission on time.
The Chief Minister was responding to a starred question raised by Nampong MLA Laisam Simai, who sought the status of Changlang district in the boundary dispute with Assam.
Simai questioned why Changlang district was excluded from the Resolution Committee of the Namsai Declaration 2022.
The CM further assured that he would take up the matter with the Assam Chief Minister to resolve the issue of the remaining districts, including Changlang, in a separate meeting.
Earlier, Minister In-charge Mama Natung also informed that on June 1, 2022, twelve (12) Regional Committees were constituted to address the Arunachal Pradesh-Assam border dispute, including a committee for Changlang District.
“At a later stage, the Government of Assam raised objections regarding Changlang District, citing that no villages from Changlang were included in the 123 disputed villages listed in the Local Commission Report of 2014. Consequently, the Regional Committee for Changlang District was not reconstituted. However, the Government of Arunachal Pradesh has requested the Government of Assam for a resolution of the Changlang District issue,” Natung added.
Natung further informed that on July 11, 2024, six (6) Regional Committees were reconstituted for the districts of Pakke Kessang, Papumpare, Kamle, Lower Siang, Lower Dibang Valley, and Longding, with Changlang District remaining excluded from the process.
“The matter concerning Changlang District remains under review and is under active consideration,” he reiterated.
The exclusion of Changlang District from the Regional Committee process highlights a selective application of the Namsai Declaration by Assam, undermining the principles outlined in the agreement.
Clause (a) of the agreement states: “The Namsai Declaration explicitly states that all border issues between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh will be confined to those raised before the Local Commission in 2007.”
However, Changlang’s case was deliberated extensively in the Local Commission Report, yet it was omitted only in the final recommendation. The removal of Changlang contradicts the very foundation of the agreement.