Shillong, Oct 6: Cabinet Minister Sosthenes Sohtun, the MLA Jirang constituency along Meghalaya-Assam border, has advocated for expediting the second phase of talks to resolve boundary disputes with the neighbouring state.
The minister, who is also part of the regional committee for resolving boundary disputes, said discussions are under way to speed up the process of second phase of talks.
“We are in the second phase of border talks. We had a discussion with the chairman of the regional committee that if we can speed up the second phase so that it will clear the doubts of every citizen who is residing in the border,” he told reporters on Monday.
Sohtun asserted the need for expediting the talks, saying, “People residing in the borders want to live in peace so that there is no disturbance from any side.”
The border dispute between Meghalaya and Assam has been ongoing for decades, with 12 areas of differences.
In March 2022, the two states signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) resolving six of the 12 disputed areas.
The second phase of talks aims to resolve the remaining six areas – Langpih, Borduar, Deshdoomreah, Block I-II, Psiar-Khanduli, and Nongwah-Mawtamur.
In June, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma and his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma held talks to discuss the border issue, among other matters.
They agreed to jointly commission a multi-purpose irrigation and hydroelectric power project and entrust the North Eastern Space Application Centre (NESAC) to conduct a detailed study on urban flooding in Guwahati.
As a significant initiative towards resolving the border dispute, the two states have also begun installing boundary pillars in Hahim area bordering West Khasi Hills district and Kamrup district.
