Shillong, June 27, 2025 — In a landmark development in the decades-old Assam-Meghalaya boundary dispute, MDA spokesperson and West Khasi Hills Regional Committee Chairperson Paul Lyngdoh announced that a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Assam government will be signed before Independence Day, marking the return of five disputed villages to Meghalaya.
“I will remind you that before August 15, we will formally sign an MoU with the Assam government whereby five new villages will come back to be part of the territory of Meghalaya,” Lyngdoh declared on Friday, confirming that the villages in question fall under the Ri-Bhoi district.
Describing the move as a major breakthrough, Lyngdoh assured that the inter-state border talks have reached an advanced stage. “We are getting closer towards a solution,” he said, amid persistent tension and territorial skirmishes along contested stretches.
On the highly sensitive Langpih sector, one of the flashpoints of the dispute, Lyngdoh noted that groundwork has already been completed. “All that is needed now is a joint visit with our Assam counterparts,” he said, signalling the final procedural steps before a resolution is reached.
Responding to allegations that the state government has failed to protect Lapangap residents from alleged encroachment and intimidation by Assam officials, Lyngdoh offered a firm rebuttal. “We would not have sent the police team or a magistrate to actually confront their counterparts from Assam if we were doing nothing. So, it’s unfair to say that the government has done little,” he asserted.
The announcement comes at a crucial juncture as both states aim to settle the remaining sectors of a boundary dispute that has lingered unresolved for over five decades.
