The two states have reached an agreement on six of the 12 disputed points

Assam and Meghalaya have signed an agreement to resolve a 50-year-old pending boundary dispute between the two states.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma signed the agreement in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Tuesday.

The two states have reached an agreement on six of the 12 points that are at the heart of the border dispute. The remaining six points are also expected to be resolved soon, Home Minister Shah said.

"About 70% of the border between the two states is now free of dispute," he pointed out, describing it as a historic day.

​The two Chief Ministers expressed their gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Home Minister Shah for solving this decades-long problem

The border dispute between the two states dates back to 1972, when Meghalaya was carved out of Assam as a new state.

The Chief Ministers of Meghalaya and Assam had signed a memorandum of understanding at Guwahati on January 29 to resolve the boundary dispute in six locations in the first phase. These six points are Tarabari, Gizang, Hahim, Boklapara, Khanapara-Pillangkata and Ratacherra in the first phase.

Assam shares its boundary with all the six other North-Eastern states - Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland - and West Bengal.

It has border disputes with some other states as well.

In August last year, the security forces of Assam and Mizoram were involved in violent firing near the state border following which the Home Ministry had to intervene.

Home Minister Shah, however, expressed hope that border disputes between other states would also be resolved soon.

While briefing the media, Shah also pointed out that during the last three years, the Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi had signed several agreements to end extremism and bring lasting peace to the North Eastern states.

* The NLFT (SD) agreement was signed in August, 2019 to bring the extremists in the mainstream of society in Tripura which contributed greatly in making Tripura a peaceful state.

* A landmark agreement was signed on January 16, 2020, to solve the 23-year-old Bru-Reang refugee crisis forever. Under this, more than 37,000 tribals who were leading a difficult life, are now living a life of dignity today.

* The Bodo Accord signed on January 27, 2020 resolved the 50 year old Bodo issue while maintaining the original form of Assam. The Assam Government and the Government of India have fulfilled 95 percent of the terms of this agreement and today Bodoland is known as a peaceful region and is on the path of development.

* The Karbi-Anglong Agreement was signed on September 4, 2021 to resolve the long-standing dispute in the Karbi regions of Assam. Under this, more than 1,000 armed cadres surrendered and joined the mainstream.

The Union Home Minister noted that from 2019 to 2022, more than 6,900 armed cadres had surrendered and more than 4,800 weapons had been surrendered to the administration.