Mizoram Cabinet opposes Indo border fencing

The Mizoram Cabinet has reiterated its opposition to the Centre’s plan to fence the Indo-Myanmar border, while acknowledging that it has no legal authority to block the move, an official said.

A meeting of the council of ministers, chaired by Chief Minister Lalduhoma, on Wednesday reaffirmed the State Government’s stand against erecting a fence along the 510-km-long Mizoram sector of the international border. “The Cabinet maintains that the State Government stands by its original position.

However, as border fencing is a Union subject, the State Government does not have the power to oppose it,” the official said. The Cabinet’s reiteration follows a resolution adopted unanimously by the Mizoram Assembly in February last year opposing the Centre’s proposal to fence the border and scrap the Free Movement Regime (FMR) with Myanmar. The State Government’s cautious stance comes amid mounting pressure from influential civil society organisations.