Aizawl: Officials from Mizoram and Assam met on Monday in a bid to ease fresh tensions along the inter-state border after Assam forest officials allegedly destroyed a rubber plantation in Mizoram’s Mamit district.
According to an official statement, deputy commissioners and police chiefs of Mizoram’s Mamit and Assam’s Hailakandi districts convened at Bairabi, near the Assam border, following the incident that took place on August 15.
Mizoram officials alleged that Assam police and forest personnel entered Saikhawthlir village and damaged nearly 290 rubber plants cultivated under the Chief Minister’s Rubber Mission.
During the meeting, Mamit deputy commissioner K. Laltlawmlova asserted that the area where the destruction occurred falls under the Kawrtha forest division and is clearly marked on maps prepared by Mizoram’s Environment, Forest and Climate Change department.
He maintained that local residents have the right to use the reserve forest area.
Hailakandi deputy commissioner Abhishek Jain, however, dismissed suggestions of a border conflict.
He said the incident stemmed from a misunderstanding, claiming the site lies within the Inner Line Reserve Forest in Assam’s Gharmura range, protected under the Reserved Forest Act of 1980.
Jain cited Section 2A of the Act, which prohibits rubber or other plantations within the inner line forest area, warning that violations could attract National Green Tribunal scrutiny.
Both sides agreed to prevent further flare-ups and decided to refer the matter to higher authorities.
The border between Mizoram and Assam stretches 164.6 km, touching Mizoram’s Aizawl, Kolasib and Mamit districts and Assam’s Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi districts.
The long-running dispute traces back to two colonial-era demarcations—one from 1875 under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation and another from 1933 under the Survey of India.
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Mizoram upholds the 1875 boundary, while Assam adheres to the 1933 line, leaving overlapping claims unresolved.
The disagreement has sparked violent clashes in the past, including a deadly confrontation in July 2021 near Vairengte that killed seven people.
Since then, both states have held several rounds of talks at ministerial and official levels.
The last meeting in April this year in Guwahati ended with a commitment to maintain the status quo and address claims raised by Mizoram.
