DIMAPUR, Aug 22 - Nagaland Home Minister Y Patton�s purported statement on Assam-Nagaland border issue appearing in local newspapers here on August 17 has drawn flak from United Naga Tribes Area Border Association (UNTABA).
Slamming the statement of the Home Minister, the UNTABA described it as �not only nonsensical but completely contradicting the Border Affairs department.�
UNTABA chairman Hukavi T Yeputhomi and general secretary Imsumongba Pongen, in a joint statement, quoted the Home Minister as stating that all efforts had been made to secure Nagaland border. They said this was contradictory to the Border Affairs department which was seriously involved in litigation in the border dispute for the past three decades filed by the then AGP Government in Assam. They said Nagaland was respondent No. 3 in the Civil Suit in which Assam Government claimed in the Supreme Court that the inter-State boundary between Assam and Nagaland was yet to be clearly demarcated.
They said the �lame utterances� of the Minister showed lack of coordination among government authorities and also revealed complete lack of responsibility and political will. This has only created more confusion among the people on an issue, the statement said.
The UNTABA pointed out that Assam deployed 47 Police posts along the border and even inside Nagaland while Nagaland has only 14 Police posts since the 1972 interim agreement between the two States (as per figures with Border Affairs department).
As per the agreement, it said, administrative power was given to Assam on the condition that it would not permit any settlements in the disputed border. However, even before denotifying the reserved forests, Assam allowed border areas to be completely deforested to facilitate illegal settlements to people with doubtful origin.
It said the entire border from Doldoli Reserved Forest near Dimapur to Tiru Reserve Forest and Abhayapur Reserve Forest in Mon districts have today become townships. UNTABA urged the State Government to fight vigorously for implementation of the Interim Agreement �in letter and spirit� through eviction of illegal settlements facilitated by Assam in border areas of all reserve forests.
