Shillong, Apr 18: Meghalaya chief minister, Conrad K. Sangma on Wednesday said that areas that were part of the erstwhile Khasi States during the composite state of Assam should form part of Meghalaya now.

The Chief Minister said this while replying to a discussion on the resolution brought by North Shillong MLA, Adelbert Nongrum who wanted that the House should resolve to notify a time-frame for complete settlement of boundary dispute with Assam.

In his reply, Conrad reiterated the government’s stand that all emphasis would be made to take all possible measures to arrive at a final and logical solution to the dispute.

“There are official communications of the British period which established that areas which were part of the Khasi states had been tagged with the neighbouring districts (now falling under Assam) for the limited purpose of revenue collection, without severing their historical links with the Khasi states. If they were part of the Khasi states, then they should be now formed part of Meghalaya,” Conrad said.

He also said that an examination of the delimitation notifications of 1952, 1966 and 1972 indicate that a large number of villages located within the areas of differences were part of the United Khasi and Jaintia Hills District and, therefore, should now form part of Meghalaya.

Similarly, the Chief Minister further said, de-limitation notifications in respect of the constituencies of the Legislative Assembly issued during the period when Meghalaya was part of the composite State of Assam would throw light on the extent of the territories of then United Khasi and Jaintia Hills District and the Garo Hills District.

“The status of villages in the areas of differences could be determined with references to these notifications issued before the creation of Meghalaya,” he said.

Stating that the inter-state boundary between Assam and Meghalaya as defined by the North Eastern Areas (Re-organisation) Act, 1971 has been a bone of contention between the two states, Conrad said that a long term solution has not emerged so far though a series of meetings were held at the level of Chief Ministers and Chief Secretaries of the two states with a view to finding an amicable solution to this vexed problem through bilateral talks, to identify areas of differences and suggest measures to resolve the differences.

“Four decades have passed by since the re-organisation of the two states, and all these steps taken by the two governments have not been able to resolve the contentious issues”, the Chief Minister told the House.

There are 12 areas of differences at present between Assam and Meghalaya which include, Upper Tarabari, Gizang Reserve Forest, Hahim area, Langpih area, Bordwar area, Nongwah Mawtamur area, Pilangkata Khanapara area, Deshdemoria area, Khanduli area, Umkhyrni Psiar area, Areas of Block-I and Block-II and Ratacherra area.

Informing the Assembly that the State government has been able to buttress its claims by presenting supporting documents, Conrad said that these documents and maps, among others, have been shared with the Assam government.

“These documents are of ample evidentiary value and could eventually pave the way for adjudication before the judiciary, if the situation so warrants,” he added.

On the next discussion with Assam on the issue, Conrad informed that response from the Assam government was awaited after a reminder requesting them to indicate a mutually convenient date for holding the meeting was sent on December 4 last year.