Khandu will take people into confidence on Assam border issue

Itanagar: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Tuesday told the Assembly that his government would take the people of the state into confidence before reaching a conclusion on the decades-old border dispute with Assam.

Responding to the zero-hour debate in the House initiated by senior Congress member Ninong Ering, the Chief Minister said that the 12 regional committees formed by the state government to study the disputed areas with Assam have their The reports have been submitted to the concerned authorities. He will soon take up the matter with his Assam counterpart.
“Before arriving at any conclusion, I will sit again with the committees to have a clear picture of the border areas. If there is any public grievance, it will be taken up with Assam,” Khandu said.

Earlier, Ering had pointed out that the Dayeng Ering Wildlife Sanctuary (DEWS), named after his father, in East Siang district, has its office in an area currently controlled by Assam.
He also said that at least 5,000 hectares of sanctuary land, which originally belonged to Arunachal, was given to Assam during the border demarcation exercise between the two states.
Assam and Arunachal Pradesh have constituted 12 regional committees to identify disputed areas along their 804.10 km boundary and expedite the process of settlement at the earliest.

The two states have identified 86 areas of conflict in the Namsai Declaration, which was signed by Khandu and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on July 22 last year.