ITANAGAR, September 19, 2026: A National People’s Party (NPP) team from Arunachal Pradesh has carried out a ground verification of the interstate boundary situation at Taraso, meeting village elders and farmers whose land and daily lives have been affected by restrictions in the disputed area.
The visit comes amid continuing concerns over the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh boundary dispute, an issue that has remained unresolved for years despite repeated efforts to find a lasting settlement.
After visiting the affected area, the NPP Arunachal Pradesh unit called for an immediate and time-bound sitting of the High-Power Committee (HPC) dealing with the border issue. The party said a faster institutional process is necessary to move towards a permanent solution and peaceful coexistence between the two neighbouring states.
One of the key suggestions put forward by the NPP was to maintain the existing status quo in disputed locations so that further damage to life or property can be avoided. The party also proposed creating a buffer zone around the disputed site, with joint patrolling by special task forces from both state governments twice a month until the HPC reaches a final settlement.
The most serious concerns raised during the field visit came from local farmers. According to the NPP, its team learned from affected families that the agricultural land of more than 270 farmers had allegedly been taken over by the Assam Forest Task Force.
NPP national general secretary Paknga Bage said, in a statement issued by the party, that the disputed farmlands had been blocked with security fencing and bunkers and were under round-the-clock guard. The party further claimed that landowners were unable to access their own agricultural and forest areas, while farm produce and domestic cattle had also become difficult to access because of restrictions imposed in the border region.
For families living close to a disputed boundary, the issue is not simply about maps or administrative lines. It can directly affect farming, movement and access to land that supports everyday life. That human dimension was central to the NPP team’s interaction with residents during the visit.
The party also questioned the pace of the state government’s HPC, which was constituted under the Namsai Declaration. According to the NPP, the committee has held hardly one sitting over the past four years, prompting the party to argue that such a slow process is unlikely to deliver a meaningful resolution.
The latest visit has once again put the spotlight on the need for sustained dialogue and field-level action in the Assam-Arunachal border areas. Whether through the HPC, temporary confidence-building measures or direct coordination between the two states, the pressure is now clearly shifting toward finding a process that produces results on the ground.
For the people living around Taraso, a boundary dispute is measured not in official meetings, but in whether they can safely reach their fields and live without uncertainty. That is ultimately where any lasting solution will have to begin.
