Assam, Meghalaya sign an accord resolving 50-yr-old border issue.

New Delhi, March 29: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Meghalayan counterpart Conrad K Sangma on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to resolve a decade-old boundary dispute between the two North-eastern sister states. The MoU under which both the states agreed to resolve six out of 12 areas spread across around 39 sq km, was signed in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Minister Rameswar Teli, MPs from Assam, including Kamakhya Prasad Tasa and Meghalaya Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong here. The latest development comes over a month after the two Chief Ministers met Shah in the national capital and submitted a report of their regional committee over the inter-state boundary issue. Speaking on the occasion, Shah said, “Today is a historic day for the North East. I congratulate both Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma ji and Meghalaya CM Conrad K Sangma ji for resolving the 50-year-long dispute.” This interstate boundary settlement will usher in a new era of peace, harmony and progress in the state of Assam and Meghalaya, he observed. “We will make Northeast dispute-free. NE will become the driving force of development of India”, Shah said. Talking to reporters shortly after signing the agreement, Sangma said, “Today is a historic day. We have signed an agreement to resolve six out of the 12 locations. “I am hopeful that in the coming time, we will reach a solution for the other six locations also. “Before signing the agreement, we took feedback from the public at grassroot level, as we felt that we would get the best solution from them,” he claimed. “There will always be people in the Opposition, who will speak against this. We have been able to reach this milestone, which has been pending for the past 50 years. We are hopeful to resolve the other six areas of differences,” Sangma told UNI, responding to the disappointment expressed by the Opposition TMC over the matter. Elated over the signing of the agreement, the Assam CM also expressed satisfaction over the MoU. “We have also prepared the roadmap to resolve the other six too in the coming time. Today, a message is being sent that inter-state boundary issues can be resolved,” he added. Sarma, who is also the convenor of BJP-led North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), said that the inter-state boundary dispute with Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland will also be resolved soon. (UNI)