Arunachal re-constitutes six committees to examine Assam border dispute

The Arunachal Pradesh government has re-constituted six regional committees to examine and exercise the present status of border dispute with Assam.

A notification issued by the Home and inter-state border affairs department on Thursday said that the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the regional committees, as established, will continue to be governed by the provisions set forth in the original notification issued on June 1, 2022.

The remaining six districts of the state where border dispute with Assam still persists as people from both states have not agreed to demarcation of villages along the inter-state border includes, Pakke Kessang, Papum Pare, Kamle, Lower Siang, Lower Dibang Valley and Longding district respectively.

The state government has appointed Health and Family Welfare Minister Biyuram Wahge as the chairman of the committee for Pakke Kessang district with the deputy commissioner and superintendent of police as members.

For Papum Pare district, Land Management Minister Balo Raja has been appointed as the chairman with Rajya Sabha MP Nabam Rebia, Doimukh MLA Nabam Vivek, Papum Pare DC and SP as members.

While Law, Legislative and Justice Minister Kento Jini has been appointed as the chairman for Lower Siang district, Commerce and Industries minister Nyato Dukam is the chairman of the Kamle district regional committee.

Rural Development minister Ojing Tasing and Agriculture Minister Gabriel D Wangsu have been appointed as chairman for Lower Dibang Valley and Longding district respectively, the notification said.

On July 15, 2022, the chief ministers of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam signed an agreement to end the decades-old border issue and decided to "restrict" the number of disputed villages to 86 instead of 123.

It was called 'Namsai Declaration' after the name of the place where their meeting was held.

Assam and Arunachal Pradesh share an 804.1-km-long border.

Arunachal Pradesh, which was made a union territory in 1972, has been maintaining that several forested tracts in the plains traditionally belonged to hill tribal chiefs and communities and these were "unilaterally" transferred to Assam earlier.

After Arunachal Pradesh achieved statehood in 1987, a tripartite committee was appointed, which recommended that certain territories be transferred from Assam to Arunachal Pradesh.

Assam contested this and the matter was in the Supreme Court for a long time.