Aizawl, Feb 5: The Mizoram Cabinet on Wednesday reaffirmed its opposition to the Central government’s plan to fence the 510-km border with Myanmar, while acknowledging that the state has no legal authority to block the project.

Chaired by Chief Minister Lalduhoma, the council of ministers reiterated Mizoram’s longstanding stance against fencing along the border with Myanmar’s Chin state. “The cabinet maintains its original position, but as border fencing is a Union subject, the state has no power to oppose it,” an official said.

The decision follows the Mizoram Assembly’s unanimous resolution last February rejecting the fencing plan and the proposed removal of the Free Movement Regime (FMR) with Myanmar.

Civil society groups have also voiced concerns. On January 16, the Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) and Zo Reunification Organisation (ZORO) submitted a joint memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, warning that fencing would divide ethnic Mizo communities across the border. Central Young Mizo Association (CYMA) leaders raised similar objections during a January meeting with Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan in New Delhi.

Mizoram shares strong ethnic ties with the Chin people, with over 30,000 displaced by Myanmar’s 2021 military coup currently living in six border districts.