Shillong, Mar 28: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has expressed eagerness of his government in resolving boundary dispute with Meghalaya and collaborating for tackling the pollution crisis in border town Byrnihat.
“From Assam side, we are eager to resolve the six pending disputed areas and out of that we can actually resolve three at any point of time,” Sarma told reporters on Friday on the sidelines of passing out parade at North Eastern Police Academy (NEPA) near Umiam.
“I think Meghalaya is waiting to see that the other three (areas) are also resolved together. We are working on and we will keep on working and I am sure that the balance will be resolved mutually,” he said.
However, he refused to give any timeframe for resolving the border dispute. “You see this involves public sentiment in both the states, so timeframe is not good, but at the same time, we should hope and pray it will be resolved sooner or later,” he said.
To a query on boundary demarcation on the ground, the Assam chief minister said, “Survey of India is doing the demarcation and they are proceeding well but whatever we have signed in presence of home minister is binding to both the government.”
Meanwhile, Sarma also assured to work together with Meghalaya government in addressing the issue of pollution at Byrnihat.
Stating both the states have shared responsibilities for Byrnihat, which is an industrial belt along Meghalaya-Assam border, said, “I will work with the government of Meghalaya to see that the pollution level comes down.”
Earlier, chief minister Conrad K Sangma assured the state assembly of formulating a joint action plan with Assam to improve air quality at Byrnihat, which was reported as “world’s most polluted city/town” in a recent survey.
Sangma had already written to the Assam chief minister seeking collaborative efforts on the matter.
