KOHIMA, June 26 – Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio has said his government was for an out-of-court settlement of the prolonged dispute over demarcation of inter-state boundary lines with Assam in a spirit of ‘give and take,’ reports PTI. Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi had announced that the issue must be settled by the Supreme Court, but “my government is for resolving the matter amicably in a spirit of give and take outside the court,” Rio told the state Assembly on Saturday. He said the Assam government filed a petition in the apex court in 1988 seeking a settlement to the vexed issue but the case was still pending. However “we favour an out of court settlement,” he reiterated.
The Chief Minister said though different political parties and civil groups in Assam also expressed the opinion that the long-pending dispute should be settled amicably in a spirit of ‘give and take’ during his interaction with them, the Assam government was not budging from its stance for the apex court settling the petition.
However, both the states have to maintain a status quo honouring the previous agreement between the two sides, Rio asserted assuring the House that if there was any encroachment in the Disputed Area Belt (DAB) from the Assam side, it would be taken up by forces not belonging to either state. As per the previous agreement neither Assam nor Nagaland police have jurisdiction over the DAB but the area is manned by CRPF personnel, he elaborated.
The vexed issue of Assam-Nagaland inter-state boundary dispute dominated the Question Hour of the Assembly with opposition members drawing the attention of the government to alleged encroachment cultivable area from Assam side in Golaghat district. Former Chief Minister S C Jamir suggested that the agreement between him and former Assam chief minister the late Hiteswar Saikia should be the basis for resolving the contentious issue in a spirit of give-and-take considering the ground realities.
Replying to queries from opposition members, Border Affairs Minister Nkhao Lotha said the stand of the government is, and has been, to settle the dispute amicably through mutual understanding, co-operation and negotiation on the basis of traditional and historical evaluation and political factors. Mentioning various agreements arrived at between the two states and with the Government of India since 1947, the Minister said the Chief Minister in March this year submitted a letter to the Deputy Prime Minister making reference to the Siakbar Hydari agreement of June 1947 which is known as nine-point agreement.
The Minister said the agreement mentioned the bringing back of all reserved forests transferred to Sivasagar and Nagaon districts of Assam in the past. The opposition members also drew the attention of the government to anomalies in the distribution of kerosene through fair price shops in the state. However, the Chief Minister, who is in-charge of civil supplies, said the Nagaland quota of the commodity was cut down by the Government of India while allocation to districts is done on the basis of the reports furnished by the respective Deputy Commissioners.