The Assam and Meghalaya governments on Tuesday announced that they would take measures to settle their border disputes in at least six areas by the end of December, PTI reported.

At a joint press conference in Guwahati, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Meghalaya counterpart Conrad Sangma said that border committees that had been set up to find solutions on the matter will submit their reports by November 30.

“The committees will present reports before their respective state governments, which will then talk to the stakeholders,” Sangma said. “After that, a clear picture will emerge and a final statement will be issued.”

Seven districts of northern and western Assam share their borders with Meghalaya. At least 12 points along these borders are disputed.

On August 6, chief ministers of the two states had met for the second time to discuss and settle the long-pending interstate boundary dispute. The first round of talks was held on July 23.

On Tuesday, Sarma said that the two states have formed three committees each to settle problems at six out of 12 disputed sites in the Hailakandi, Kamrup and Kamrup Metropolitan districts.

Territorial disputes between the two states began after Assam was restructured after Independence to form other states, including Meghalaya.

Meghalaya was demarcated in 1972. Assam is the only state with which Meghalaya shares an internal border.

Meanwhile, on Monday the two chief ministers also visited a disputed area at Langpih in Assam’s Kamrup district.