Assam, Meghalaya resume border talks

• Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Meghalaya counterpart Conrad K Sangma resumed talks to resolve remaining border disputes in six boundary areas between both the states.
• In March 2022, the two northeastern states had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to resolve 6 of the 12 points of dispute along their border.
• The six sectors where disputes remain are Langpih, Borduar, Nongwah-Mawtamur, DeshDoomreah, Block 1 & Block II, and Psiar-Khanduli.

Assam, Meghalaya resume border talks

• Talks aimed at the resolution of border disputes between Assam and Meghalaya resumed with a chief minister-level meeting.
• This meeting was a first since the firing incident at the border village of Mukroh in November last year in which six people had died.

Background:

• Border dispute and efforts towards resolution
  • Assam and Meghalaya share an 884 km-long border which has frequently seen flare-ups.
  • The two chief ministers have been in talks to resolve the dispute since July 2021.
• Border pact signed in March 2022
  • In March 2022, CMs of both the states signed an MoU to settle the disputes in a 36.7-sq-km area comprising six out of the twelve disputed areas.
  • The second phase of talks, tackling the remaining six areas, was supposed to have begun August 2022.
• Firing incident at the border village of Mukroh and suspension of talks
  • Three months later, in November 2022, 6 persons, including an Assam Forest Guard, were killed in a clash between Assam Police and a mob.
  • This incident took place in a clash between a mob and a contingent of police and forest guards from Assam in pursuit of a truck allegedly smuggling timber across the inter-state border.
  • This firing incident was a setback before phase 2 began. It led to the suspension of talks.

Prelims Take Away

• Location Based Questions