Nagaland’s Objection to Assam Project Rekindles Border Tensions in Merapani

Construction work on the Kothari Irrigation Schemeat No. 1 Negheribil in Merapani, Golaghat district of Assam, has remained stalled for the past four months due to tensions with Nagaland. 

Despite several meetings between the border officials of Assam and Nagaland, the Nagaland administration has refused to allow the project to resume, leaving local farmers deprived of crucial irrigation facilities.

According to reports, on the evening of 5 August, two Nagaland officials accompanied by Nagaland police arrived at the project site along the Chelechali River and instructed workers to halt construction immediately. With no alternative, the workers had to comply, and the project has been suspended ever since.

Local Assamese residents have expressed outrage over Nagaland’s intervention in a government project within Assam’s territory.

Farmers in the surrounding villages have appealed to the Golaghat district administration to ensure the project’s completion so they can benefit from it.

The irrigation project had been planned by the Assam government in coordination with the state forest department, following notifications regarding the eviction of encroachers.

Despite this, the Nagaland administration has forcibly stopped the project. Multiple rounds of talks involving the Merapani border magistrate, Nagaland’s Bhandari border magistrate, and the 142 CRPF unit deployed along the border have so far failed to produce any resolution.

Local organizations, including the Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) and the All Assam Chutia Students' Union (AACSU), have urged the Assam government and the Golaghat district administration to take immediate steps to resume the irrigation project.

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