The chief ministers of Assam and Nagaland held talks on the settlement of border disputes and agreed in-principle on oil exploration in the disputed areas for economic benefit.

The boundary problem between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh was resolved following the signing of an MoU by Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Arunachal Pradesh CM, Pema Khandu, in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday evening. Sarma also had a one-on-one discussion with his Nagaland counterpart Neiphiu Rio at the Assam House late Thursday evening to resolve the long-standing border row between the two neighbouring states.

Both the chief ministers also discussed issues of mutual interests and collaboration on oil exploration along the inter-state border.

Later, Sarma tweeted, “Happy to have got an opportunity to spend time with Hon’ble Chief Minister of Nagaland @Neiphiu_Rio Ji at Assam House, New Delhi. We had an engaging discussion on bringing closure to the ongoing boundary issue and other areas of mutual gains and collaboration.”

Rio told mediapersons that he had a fruitful discussion with his Assam counterpart on the settlement of the border dispute out of court with the cooperation of ethnic groups from both sides.

“We have discussed our border issue and development issues because we have to work together, support one another and know how to go forward. Assam and Arunachal Pradesh signed an agreement on the border dispute on Friday. Likewise, we are discussing how we should settle our border dispute outside court with the (support of) ethnic groups from both sides,” quipped Rio.

Rio disclosed that both states have in-principle decided to go in for an MoU for oil exploration in the disputed areas along the inter-state boundary so that oil can be extracted and royalties shared between the states. “Once it is formalised, there is huge potential for exploration of oil inside Nagaland also. The country needs oil in a big way,” he added.Sarma said, “We will resolve the remaining areas of dispute with Meghalaya. The process of resolving the border dispute with Mizoram has started. With Nagaland, we had talks as owing to the border dispute we are not able to do oil exploration in the border areas. We have decided to get the dispute with Nagaland settled in court.”

The then Nagaland governor Jagdish Mukhi in March last year said the Assam CM has positively indicated that the proceeds of petroleum and oil exploration and extraction between the two states in sectors A, B & C in the Disputed Area Belt (DAB) area would be equally divided.

For exploration and extraction outside the DAB, he said the Government of India has to recognise the ownership for the indigenous inhabitants of Nagaland and the constitutional protection granted to them under Article 371(A) regarding the transfer of land and its resources, and thereafter devise a mutually agreed, suitable mechanism for payment of royalty and issue of petroleum exploration licence (PELs).

Rio earlier stated the states have agreed to share royalty from petroleum from the disputed area. “The issue of royalty sharing along the disputed areas was also discussed and is taking shape. Earlier, teams from both the states along with the chief secretary met Union petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri and discussed the sharing of royalty of petroleum and natural gas along the disputed sites.”

Oil exploration could not be taken up in the state as there has been a standoff on the exploration issue between the Centre and the state.

The Nagaland government has maintained that if oil exploration had to take place, it should be based on the Nagaland Petroleum and Natural Gas Rules, 2012, and should take into consideration the special provisions of Article 371 (A). ONGC had earlier stopped E&P activities in Nagaland in 1994 after the militant outfit NSCN (IM) asked it to quit the state.

Neutral forces have been stationed along the contentious area along the Assam-Nagaland border since 1971.The two states share a 512.1-km border. There were clashes along the border in 1965, 1968, 1979, 1985, 2007 and 2014. The Assam government had filed a case in the Supreme Court in 1988 for resolving the border dispute.