The regional committees of Assam and Meghalaya held a meeting in Shillong on Wednesday, where they discussed the demarcation of their disputed inter-state boundary.

The meeting took place six months after violence in Mukroh village along the disputed border claimed the lives of six people.

Meghalaya's Deputy Chief Minister Sniawbhalang Dhar, who was leading his state's committee, told PTI, "This was the first joint meeting of the regional committees after the CMs of the two states met last month. We have decided to start working on the ground. The demarcation of the boundary was discussed." The committees will visit the villages in Block I areas in Meghalaya's West Jaintia Hills district and Assam's West Karbi Anglong district and seek people's opinions before going ahead with the demarcation, Dhar said.

He said the Assam team was headed by minister Pijush Hazarika, and the committee included deputy commissioners of West Karbi Anglong and West Jaintia Hills districts.

In November last year, violence broke out in Mukroh area, where six people -- a forest guard from Assam and five villagers from Meghalaya -- were killed after a truck "laden with illegally felled timber" was intercepted by the forest personnel of Assam.

The clash had taken place between a joint team of Assam Police and Forest Protection Force and some villagers from Meghalaya's West Jaintia Hills district.

The entire conflict area falls in a disputed border location near Kheroni Forest Range in Assam and Mukroh and both states claimed the incident occurred in their respective territories.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had told the assembly last year that seven incidents of clashes and disputes between the two neighbouring states had taken place in West Karbi Anglong since 2021.

Assam and Meghalaya have a longstanding dispute in 12 areas along the 884.9-km-long interstate border, and the location of the November 22 clash happens to be one among these.

In 2010, four persons have died in an indiscriminate firing by Assam Police at Langpih (one of the 12 areas of differences).

The two northeastern states had signed a memorandum of understanding in March 2022 in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi for settling the dispute in six areas.

Meghalaya was carved out of Assam in 1972 and had since then challenged the Assam Reorganisation Act, 1971, which is recognised by Assam as its border.

Meghalaya lays claim to Block I and Block II as both areas were transferred from the then United Khasi Jaintia Hills district of Assam in 1951 to the Karbi Anglong district by the then Governor of Assam for administrative convenience.

However, in 1972 when Meghalaya was carved out of Assam, they were not retransferred resulting in claims and counter-claims among the residents.

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