Arunachal Govt appoints Nodal Officer
Staff REPORTER
ITANAGAR, Jun 9: In a bid to resolve the protracted boundary row with neighbouring Assam, the Arunachal Pradesh Government has appointed a Nodal Officer in senior bureaucrat Kaling Tayeng (IAS) to study the ‘ground realities’ and prepare a report on the same.
“With a view to resolve the Arunachal Pradesh-Assam territorial dispute, Kaling Tayeng IAS Commissioner, PWD, Political, Vigilance, Power (Elect) and Divisional Commissioner (West) is hereby appointed as Nodal officer to study and prepare a report on ground realities.
He shall be assisted in the task by Rajeev Takuk, Joint Secretary (Political),” stated the ‘order’ dated 7th June 2021 signed by Principal Secretary (Home) Rajeev Verma
The term of reference for the latest initiative shall be: “Study and preparation of brief on each of the territorially disputed place/spot and issue giving its extent and its origin, period/date. Preparation of Map [(a) Habitation Area Scale 1:1000 (b) Forest Area Scale 1:5000] with State boundary duly marked on it of the disputed spots/territory/jungle to include all ground details and all landmarks like houses/open fields/cultivations/tracks/roads and other constructions etc. Land use history and land claimants genealogical and exact residential location and place history from the time of the partition of Arunachal Pradesh from Assam.
Formulation of unbiased view and opinion regarding the rightful ownership of either State on each point of dispute, keeping in mind the history of the land use and the land user,” the order read, adding that the report shall be submitted by the Nodal Officer within a period of one month.
It is pertinent to mention that the Assam-Arunachal boundary dispute has been pending with the country’s apex court for more than three decades now.
With the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre and the State Governments in both Assam and Arunachal Pradesh being run by the same political party, there is a public demand for an amicable resolution of the decades-old boundary matter between the two neighbouring states.