GUWAHATI: In a bid to resolve the long-standing border dispute between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, the Chief Ministers of both the state on Friday signed the historic Namsai Declaration.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who has made resolving the state’s border issue one of his priorities, and Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu signed the declaration after a crucial meeting attended by cabinet ministers from both sides.
“Now, there is no dispute between the two states over the 123 villages along the border area. 28 villages are already within Arunachal’s boundary. The dispute between the two has been reduced or restricted now. Only 86 villages have the dispute now; not 123 villages… this is historic,” Sarma, who state shares Assam shares an 804.10 km boundary with Arunachal Pradesh, said.
Both sides have agreed to form 12 regional committees to resolve the border issues along with the interstate border which will visit the disputed sites, and after that, these committees will submit their report on 15th September.
July 15, 2022 ~A historic day, as I and Hon CM Assam, Shri @himantabiswa Ji signed the Namsai Declaration resolving the border dispute between Arunachal and Assam.
Guided by Hon PM Shri @narendramodi Ji & Hon HM Shri @AmitShah Ji we could achieve this important milestone. pic.twitter.com/T7lHYiaCpy
— Pema Khandu པདྨ་མཁའ་འགྲོ་། (@PemaKhanduBJP) July 15, 2022
Reports suggested that the Namsai declaration would be sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his approval.
To finally resolve the issue, the two Chief Ministers first met on April 20, 2022, in Guwahati. The meeting was crucial because it helped both sides to reach a consensus for an out-of-the-court settlement of the boundary disputes.