Assam-Mizoram CMs to Hold Talks on Border Issues on Sept 19

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Mizoram counterpart Zoramthanga will hold talks for the second time in New Delhi on Monday for the resolution of the boundary dispute between the two northeastern states.

A Mizoram official said it was unclear whether Union home minister Amit Shah will preside over the talks. “The chief ministers spoke over the phone on Friday and decided to meet over the border issue on September 19 [Monday] in New Delhi,” said the official, who did not want to be named.

The chief ministers also spoke over the telephone on August 10 and agreed to hold talks later that month or early September. They earlier met in Shah’s presence in Delhi in November last year and agreed to form panels involving stakeholders to resolve the dispute and have chief ministerial level talks.

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Mizoram shares a 164.6-km border with Assam and the dispute over it is linked to colonial demarcations in 1875 and 1933. Mizoram held a stretch of a reserved forest notified in 1875. A section of it now falls under Assam.

Assam has insisted on the finality of the boundary as per the survey of India’s map in 1933 and claims over some areas under Mizoram’s control.

The two states held a ministerial-level meeting on August 5 last year and agreed to maintain peace along the border and resolve the dispute through dialogue after seven people were killed and around 60 injured when police forces of the two states fired at each other in July 2021.

The two states have held two rounds of talks in Aizawl and three virtual meetings. On August 9, they agreed to maintain peace and take necessary measures to prevent any untoward incident along the borders.

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