Ending the long-running border dispute between Assam and Meghalaya, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the first boundary pillar has been installed at one of the contested spots along the inter-state border.

He said these "pillars of peace and clarity" will help bring proper governance to areas that were earlier seen as undefined.

"First boundary pillar standing on Assam-Meghalaya border", Sarma wrote in a post on X, describing it as a step towards "the on-ground implementation of 2022 agreement".

However, the Assam chief minister did not mention the exact place where the pillar has been set up.

Sarma said that when Meghalaya was formed out of Assam in 1972, "a major part of its border with Assam was left in a grey area, very frequently causing confusion and tension among our states".

He also wrote on X that "Fifty years after, in 2022, under the stewardship of Adarniya @narendramodi Ji and in the presence of Adarniya @AmitShah Ji, our two states signed a historic MoU to start delineating our boundaries," referring to the agreement signed between Assam and Meghalaya in the national capital.

He added that six out of the twelve disputed areas have now been resolved and "fruits of that agreement are now flowing in as the first pillars get erected".

Sarma further said, "So, how do these pillars enhance harmony among us, sister states? People and administration on both sides now have precise clarity on jurisdiction. Governance can finally shine in these 'once grey areas'," tagging Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma.

In a joint press conference held on June 2, both chief ministers announced that boundary pillars would be set up in five disputed locations before Independence Day.

For the sixth disputed location covered in the 2022 agreement, they had explained that it involved the Pilingkata area and that there was still a "difference of interpretation", which would be discussed by the deputy commissioners of both states.

Sarma had also stated that Assam and Meghalaya had agreed to continue talks on the remaining six of the twelve disputed areas, although no specific timeline has been decided for completing those discussions.

There are twelve areas under dispute along the 884.9 kilometre-long border shared by the two states.

In March 2022, both Assam and Meghalaya signed an agreement in New Delhi in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah to settle disputes in six of these areas.

Out of the 36.79 square kilometres of disputed land taken up in the first phase, Assam was allocated 18.46 square kilometres and Meghalaya received 18.33 square kilometres.

Since it became a separate state in 1972, Meghalaya has been contesting the Assam Reorganisation Act of 1971, which defines the border as accepted by Assam.