Itanagar, Mar 11: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Wednesday assured the Assembly that the state government will take up the issue of alleged violation of the status quo along the inter-state boundary in Changlang district with the Assam government after the Assembly elections in the neighbouring state.
Responding to a question by Laisam Simai during Question Hour, Khandu said he would also direct Changlang Deputy Commissioner and SP to coordinate with their counterparts in Assam’s Dibrugarh district to prevent any law and order problem in the disputed areas.
Raising the matter, the Nampong MLA alleged that despite maintaining status quo in the disputed area, the Assam officials had made unauthorised visits to the area on 17 occasions and had even assaulted local residents.
Responding to a supplementary question from Wanglin Lowangdong regarding the unsolved boundary row in Tirap district despite signing of the Namsai Declaration on July 15, 2022, the Chief Minister said that according to the Survey of India, the dispute between Tirap district and Assam's Tinsukia district has already been settled.
"Even if there are any discrepancies, we can look for out-of-the-box solutions through discussion with Assam, but officially we cannot do anything," Khandu said.
Earlier, replying to Simai’s question, Home and Inter-State Border Affairs Minister Mama Natung informed the House that five villages in Changlang district did not figure in the Namsai Declaration as the Regional Committee constituted for the district was kept in abeyance due to initial objections raised by Assam.
He said no disputed villages from Changlang district were reflected in the report of the Local Commission submitted in 2014, and consequently, no conclusive resolution has yet been reached regarding the Changlang–Tinsukia sector.
Natung further said that the Tarun Chatterjee Committee had recommended that the five villages fall under Assam, a finding that was also reported by the then Deputy Commissioner of Changlang.
He added that the villagers had approached the Supreme Court over the matter, and the case remains sub judice, preventing both state governments from arriving at an amicable solution.
The Namsai Declaration, signed by the Chief Ministers of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, marked a major step towards resolving the decades-old boundary dispute between the two states.
The agreement aimed to address disputes involving 123 villages along the inter-state boundary, which was later reduced to 86 villages following negotiations and joint verification. (PTI)