Kathmandu, 01 August (H.S.):

Nepal and India will hold the 13th meeting of the Survey Officials Committee (SOC) in Lucknow, India, from August 12 to 14 to deliberate on technical issues related to the bilateral border. The meeting is expected to approve the work plan and budget required for implementing the decisions taken during the seventh meeting of the Boundary Working Group (BWG).

The Boundary Working Group is the highest bilateral mechanism dealing with technical matters concerning the Nepal-India border, excluding the disputed areas of Susta and Kalapani, which remain outside its jurisdiction. The Nepali delegation will be led by Sushil Dangol, Deputy Director General of the Department of Survey.

During the seventh BWG meeting, held on July 30 last year, both countries agreed to complete the construction of new border pillars, jointly repair damaged pillars, and undertake other technical works within the next three years.

The two sides also decided to prepare a record of encroachments in the Dasgaja (no-man's land) area and compile details of properties owned by citizens of both countries across the international border.

With two years of the agreed implementation period already completed, the upcoming meeting is expected to formulate a revised action plan for the remaining one year.

The Nepal-India border issue gained renewed political significance after Nepal released its new political map in 2020. However, technical-level cooperation on border management has continued independently of political developments.

The establishment of the Boundary Working Group was agreed upon during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Nepal in 2014. Its mandate includes clearing encroachments from the Dasgaja area, constructing, restoring and repairing border pillars, updating records of cross-border properties, and carrying out other technical tasks related to border management.

Initially, both countries aimed to complete these works within three years by 2015. As the target could not be achieved, the deadline was extended in 2017 until 2022. However, budget constraints, the COVID-19 pandemic, recurring border disputes, and adverse weather conditions prevented completion of the work. Following the pandemic and the 2020 border dispute, bilateral relations cooled, and no BWG meeting was held after 2019.

According to Nepal's Department of Survey, the Lucknow meeting will also review progress on upgrading Global Positioning System (GPS) base stations along the border.

Official data show that the Nepal-India border currently has 8,554 border pillars. Of these, 1,325 are missing, while 1,956 are either partially or completely damaged.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar