Assam and Arunachal Pradesh sign agreement to settle boundary dispute

Tags: State News

The governments of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh have signed an agreement for the settlement of an inter-state boundary dispute between the two States on 21 April.

An overview of the news

• This agreement was signed by the Chief Minister of Assam Himanta Biswa Sarma and Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu in presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi.

• The agreement between the two states will end the dispute over 123 villages along the border.

• The settlement has been done keeping in mind the historical perspective, demographic profile, administrative convenience, proximity to the border and aspirations of the residents.

• Both the state governments have agreed that this settlement will be final in respect of these disputed villages and in future neither state will make any new claim related to any area or village.

• After the agreement, a detailed survey will be conducted by the Survey of India to determine the boundaries of the two states.

What is Assam and Arunachal Pradesh boundary dispute?

• Assam shares an interstate border of 804.10 km with Arunachal Pradesh.

• The state of Arunachal Pradesh, created in 1987, claims that some of its residents' land has been given to Assam.

• Arunachal Pradesh has raised concerns from time to time that several forest areas in the plains that traditionally belonged to hill tribal communities were unilaterally transferred to Assam.

• A tripartite committee recommended that some areas be transferred from Assam to Arunachal.

• Assam contested this and the matter is in the Supreme Court.