Guwahati: Assam’s Sarupathar MLA Biswajit Phukan and Nagaland’s Bhandari MLA Achumbemo Kikon have proposed a joint committee to help resolve disputes along the Assam-Nagaland border.
The proposed Sarupathar-Bhandari Joint Peace and Coordination Committee will include public and civil society representatives and Border Magistrates from both States.
Sarupathar is in Golaghat district and shares a border with Bhandari, which has a large stretch of the disputed Area Belt (DAB) between the two States.
Phukan announced the proposal on September 19 at a friendship meet and cultural exchange programme for communities from Assam and Nagaland living along the DAB.
The Golaghat administration hosted the event at Hatidubi near Uriamghat, where cultural groups from both States performed.
The programme also marked the first death anniversary of Assam cultural icon Zubeen Garg and honoured his legacy.
Phukan later told the media that he and Kikon had met at his residence in Sarupathar earlier that morning to discuss the proposed committee for the Golaghat-Wokha border area.
He said the committee would bring together people and civil society representatives from both sides along with Border Magistrates to resolve local disputes through discussions. Its working arrangements will be decided later, he said.
Phukan said he did not want to discuss the wider border dispute at the programme, as people from both States had gathered for a friendship event. He called for regular contact between border communities and said both State governments should work on economic development in the disputed area.
He said past incidents should be left behind and the two sides should work towards friendship, progress and prosperity.
Phukan also said preparations were underway for a border summit involving Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, along with a ceremonial tree plantation drive in the DAB.
Speaking at the programme, Phukan said the inter-State boundary dispute was before the Supreme Court, but residents of border villages could not continue living with uncertainty. He said wealthier residents could relocate to areas with better facilities, while poorer families could not afford to do so.
He said the Supreme Court would decide the boundary dispute and that people living in the area could not settle it themselves. Local disputes, however, could be resolved through talks outside the court, he said.
Phukan also spoke about plans for an express road connecting Chungajan and Dimapur. He said the road would reduce the journey to Dimapur Airport from the current 35 to 40 minutes to around 15 minutes.
For income generation in the disputed area, the Assam government plans to provide five lakh tissue-cultured bamboo saplings that can mature within a year, he said. The bamboo will be used as feedstock for Numaligarh Refinery’s bamboo bio-refinery.
He added that one lakh saplings worth around Rs 50 lakh would be provided free of cost to Naga residents.
Phukan said the plantation programmes should not be viewed as an attempt to claim land. He cited erratic weather and recent floods in Nagaland’s Mon district and Assam’s Sivasagar and Charaideo districts, saying the plantations were intended only for environmental purposes.
He also said the plantation programme had no connection with politics.
Phukan referred to the old Ahom tradition of ‘mita’, under which Assamese and Naga communities forged bonds by exchanging gifts. He urged people on both sides to move beyond past grievances.