Pillar installation underway in six areas along Assam border: Meghalaya Guv
Fifty-four pillars erected in Hahim, 83 in Gijang, Guv Vijayashankar tells House on Budget session’s first day
Meghalaya Guv Vijayashankar addressing the budget session of Meghalaya Assembly. (Photo:@MeghalayaGov/X)
Shillong, Feb 16: Meghalaya Governor C.H. Vijayashankar, on Monday, said the state government has made significant progress in implementing the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with Assam to resolve the decades-old inter-state boundary dispute.
Addressing the Assembly on the opening day of the Budget session, the Governor said the demarcation of boundary pillars is underway in the remaining six areas of difference between the two states.
“Fifty-four pillars have been erected in the Hahim area and 83 in the Gijang area,” Vijayashankar informed the House.
The pillars are reportedly being installed along the banks of the Gijang and Tirchang rivers, covering Rangthali, Umshek (Mathapota), Maspara, Malapara, Ranighar, Salpara, Thutia Bazaar and Rangsapara.
The exercise is part of joint efforts by the Assam and Meghalaya governments to bring a lasting resolution to the long-standing dispute.
The border areas have witnessed periodic tensions since Meghalaya was carved out of Assam in 1972.
Following multiple rounds of talks between Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, 12 stretches along the inter-state boundary were identified as “areas of difference”.
Of these, six were resolved in the first phase of negotiations, culminating in the signing of an agreement on March 29, 2022, in New Delhi in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
The six settled sectors include Hahim, Gijang, Tarabari, Bakalapara, Khanapara–Pilinkata and Ratachera, covering parts of Kamrup, Kamrup (Metro) and Cachar districts in Assam and West Khasi Hills, Ri-Bhoi and East Jaintia Hills districts in Meghalaya.
The process began in June 2021 when the two states adopted a “give-and-take” approach and constituted three regional committees each to examine the disputed stretches.
However, tensions have continued in some of the remaining sectors. In October 2025, a Karbi man was killed in a clash between villagers along the Assam–Meghalaya border in Lapangap in West Jaintia Hills, three days after the Inter-State Border Peace Committee had resolved to suspend agricultural activities in the disputed area.
Both states claim ownership of Lapangap, referred to as Block I by Meghalaya, which asserts historical claims over the land. The area is currently administered by the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) in Assam.
Block I, along with five other unsettled areas, is slated to be taken up in the second phase of border talks between the two states.
The Governor’s address underscored the state government’s commitment to carrying forward the demarcation process and advancing the second phase of negotiations aimed at resolving the remaining disputes.