Kohima, Sep 4 (IANS) All eviction drives along the Nagaland-Assam inter-state borders would be conducted jointly by district administrations and police from both states in order to ensure no unilateral actions are taken and to prevent the influx of illegal immigrants, Nagaland Deputy Chief Minister Yanthungo Patton said on Thursday.

Making a statement on the second day of the state Assembly session, the Deputy Chief Minister said that the Nagaland government, under the supervision of Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio has been closely monitoring the inter-state borders situation.

He informed the house that after discussions between the Chief Ministers of Nagaland and Assam on August 21, both parties agreed to halt any further plantations or pillar erections until matters are resolved at the Chief Ministerial level.

The Cabinet in its meeting on August 26 resolved that all illegal immigrants are to be evicted, and any required plantation drives would be carried out jointly by both states, with coordination among district administrations, police, forest departments, and involvement of local communities.

Patton, who holds the Home and Border Affairs portfolio, stated that the cabinet had resolved to communicate with the Union Home Minister and Ministry of Home Affairs regarding the continued presence of Assam Police Forces in the Disputed Area Belt (DAB), which is contrary to the 1972 Agreement.

He said that Assam now operates 45 permanent police outposts in the DAB, while Nagaland has withdrawn all its five pre-1972 police outposts.

The Deputy CM said that since the first information about an eviction-oriented survey in the Reserve Forest by Assam authorities the Nagaland state government, upon learning of these developments, the Border Magistrate, Uriamghat, Nagaland, raised the issue with the Border Magistrate, Sarupathar on July 17 and conducted an on-site verification.

Following this, a joint coordination meeting was held on July 22 with senior officials from both sides at Sarupathar, Assam.

Patton informed the house that on July 24, he visited the DAB area of Wokha and Niuland districts accompanied by MLAs, representatives from Lotha Hoho, Lotha Students’ Union, and Western Sumi Hoho local leaders to engage directly with the affected people.

The Nagaland cabinet had also agreed to establish a Special Border Response Force (SBRF) including personnel from Border Affairs, Police, and Forest Department for prompt response to any border issues.

He assured all the members the state government would continue all necessary steps to protect the interests of its citizens in all border districts, ensuring no unilateral actions are taken and that all eviction or plantation drives are strictly joint undertakings.

Patton appealed to all civil society organisations and the media to rely only on verified, official sources for all information related to recent developments in the DAB.

–IANS

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