GUWAHATI: Four Northeastern states have encroached upon more than 82,000 hectares of Assam’s land, according to the Border Protection and Development Minister Atul Bora.
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Responding to a question from Congress MLA Rekibuddin Ahmed at the state assembly on Wednesday, March 5, Bora said that Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Nagaland have occupied 82,751.86 hectares across 18 districts of Assam.
He stated in detail that Nagaland has the largest share, controlling 59,490.21 hectares, while Meghalaya has the least, with 3,441.86 hectares. Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram have reportedly encroached upon 16,144.01 hectares and 3,675.78 hectares, respectively.
The minister also mentioned that Biswanath, Cachar, Charaideo, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Kamrup, Lakhimpur, Sonitpur, and Tinsukia are among the affected districts, and reiterated the state government’s ongoing efforts to resolve these border disputes.
Earlier, in March 2022, Assam and Meghalaya partially settled a 50-year-old border issue in six of the 12 disputed sectors along their 885-km boundary. The two states agreed to divide 36.79 sq. km almost equally. This was followed by Assam and Arunachal Pradesh signing the Namsai Declaration in July 2022, reducing the number of disputed villages claimed by the latter from 123 to 86.