Nearly 83,000 hectares of Assam’s land are currently under the occupation of four neighbouring states, the Assam Assembly was informed on Wednesday.
Replying to a question raised by Congress MLA Rekibuddin Ahmed during the Budget Session, Border Protection and Development Minister Atul Bora said that 82,751.86 hectares of land across 18 districts of Assam are presently under the control of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram.
According to the minister, Nagaland accounts for the largest share, with 59,490.21 hectares of Assam’s land under its occupation. Arunachal Pradesh is occupying 16,144.01 hectares, followed by Mizoram with 3,675.78 hectares, while Meghalaya accounts for 3,441.86 hectares, the lowest among the four neighbouring states.
The affected districts include Sonitpur, Biswanath, Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Charaideo, Jorhat, Sivasagar, Golaghat, Goalpara, Cachar, Kamrup, Kamrup Metropolitan, South Salmara-Mankachar, West Karbi Anglong, Hailakandi and Sribhumi.
Bora informed the House that the state government has been pursuing an amicable resolution to the long-pending inter-state boundary disputes through dialogue. He noted that Assam has already signed bilateral agreements with Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh under the guidance of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to resolve portions of the border disputes.
The minister reiterated that discussions with the remaining neighbouring states are continuing as part of the government’s efforts to achieve a lasting settlement of the boundary issues.