GUWAHATI, March 28 � Neighbouring States like Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram and Tripura are encroaching over 78,000 hectares of Assam�s land but no land of the State is under encroachment by any foreign country, said Border Areas Development Minister Siddique Ahmed in reply to a question by Aminul Islam (AIUDF) in the State Assembly today.
The Minister asserted that Assam is not encroaching upon any land of any neighbouring State or country.
Ahmed asserted that the official residence of Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi at Koinadhara Hill is located in Dag No. 145 of Khanapara village under Beltola mauza of Kamrup Metro district and there is no reason for Meghalaya to stake claim over the area.
The Minister said that efforts are on to prevent encroachment of Assam�s land by the neighbouring States and two cases have been registered in the Supreme Court against encroachments by Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. Talks are also on with the governments of neighbouring states in this regard at different levels, he added.
