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Inter-state boundary disputes : Apex court panel begins work |
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A Supreme Court-constituted panel on Nov. 26 began “identifying” the boundaries of Assam, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh in what is seen as the first consensual exercise to end the territory disputes among the three northeastern neighbours.
Formed on September 25, the three-member commission will record the views of the states over a period of three days before finalising the modalities on how to go about its task within its one-year term.
All the three states have been asked to make their presentations during the first sitting of the commission at the Guwahati Circuit House. The commission intends to set up a permanent office in the Assam capital.
The panel is headed by retired Supreme Court Justice S.N. Variava. The other members are S.P. Goel and Kamal Naidu.
Several districts of Assam, including Jorhat, Golaghat and Sivasagar, share the boundary with Nagaland. Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Tinsukia and Sonitpur border Arunachal Pradesh.
There have been bloody skirmishes between Nagaland and Assam at Merapani, in Golaghat district, over land that both states claim as their own. Opposing the proposal to form a boundary commission, the Nagaland government pointed out that two such committees and seven agreements had failed to end its dispute with Assam.
The order for the constitution of a local commission was delayed because Nagaland did not respond to a September 2004 order from the apex court. The court had directed all three states to file affidavits, giving an undertaking to co-operate with the proposed commission. With the court setting a deadline, Nagaland finally filed the affidavit on September 25. K.K. Venugopal, the senior counsel for Assam, said Dispur could have filed a contempt petition against Nagaland for not filing an affidavit but that would have further delayed efforts to find a solution.
Centre raps Chief Minister Gogoi on boundary issue
The Union Home Ministry has expressed disappointment with Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi for not being proactive in dealing with the boundary problem in the Cachar-Karimganj sector.
In September, the Union Home Ministry wrote to the government, urging it to allocate land in the sector to farmers of the state and help them start tilling the area. The request came in the wake of infiltration by Bangladeshi farmers into Indian territory. They were covered by fire from the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR).
Home Ministry sources said tension continues to simmer between the BSF and BDR in the area and blamed Dispur for it. “They (the Assam government) do not have the guts,” said an official, adding that Bangladeshi farmers are still being pushed in by the other country.
The land in question is in patches along the banks of the Surma, a tributary of the Barak. Large chunks of cultivable land come under border posts 1352, 1353 and 1354 that are being claimed by Bangladesh as adverse possessions. India has, however, debunked these claims.
After the Surma changed its course, Bangladesh began to send in its farmers to encroach paddy fields in Assam and claim them as its own.
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