Shah to discuss state border disputes with CMs on his visit to Northeast

Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in Meghalaya on Saturday on a two-day visit during which he will chair a meeting with the chief ministers of eight northeastern states in which inter-state border disputes might be discussed, an official said.

Shah will chair a closed-door meeting with chief ministers, chief secretaries and police chiefs of the eight states later in the day, he said.

After landing at Shillong airport, where he was received by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma and Union minister Jitendra Singh, Shah attended a meeting of the North East Space Applications Centre (NESAC). After the programme, he will inaugurate an ISBT terminal at Mawiong on the city outskirts and a cryogenic plant in New Shillong Township, the official said.

At the meeting with the chief ministers of the northeastern states, Shah is likely to be briefed on the inter-state border disputes plaguing the region for long, he said.

Several northeastern states have inter-state border disputes. The boundary issue between Assam and Mizoram has flared up violently several times in the recent past.

Shah is also scheduled to visit Sohra (formerly called Cherrapunji) on Sunday to inaugurate an afforestation project and the Greater Sohra Water Supply Scheme, and also visit the Ramakrishna Mission Ashram there.

The Union home minister has also scheduled a 30-minute-long meeting with leaders of civil society organisations, who are likely to raise the demands for the implementation of Inner Line Permit (ILP) in Meghalaya and the inclusion of Khasi in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.