Nepal passes amendment on the new map

Key Facts:-

• The Lower House of Nepal’s Parliament has unanimously voted for the Second Constitution Amendment Bill, which guarantees legal status for the new political map of the country that includes part of Indian territory in Uttarakhand.

Background:

• The territorial dispute stems from the fact that Nepal claims the land to the east of river Kali, which forms the country’s western border.
• As per Kathmandu’s understanding, the river originates from Limpiyadhura in the higher Himalayas, giving it access to a triangular-shaped land defined by Limpiyadhura-Lipulekh and Kalapani. India opposes the notion and says the origin of the river is much further down, which reduces Nepal’s territorial demand.
• Nepal unveiled the new map after India inaugurated Darchula-Lipulekh link road Nepal had also earlier strongly protested when the updated Indian map published in November 2019, showing the region as part of Uttarakhand.
• Nepal claims right to the region and says India was allowed to station troops there in the 1950s and that India has refused to remove forces from the region ever since.

India’s reaction:

• Responding to the development, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has stated the current development as being violative of the current understanding between the two countries to hold talks on outstanding boundary issues.
• It also argued that the artificial enlargement of claims is not based on historical facts or evidence and is not tenable.

Concerns:

• The current development will lead to further complicating the Indo-Nepal border negotiations as Foreign Secretaries or senior envoys have no right to negotiate on the provisions of Nepal’s Constitution.
• The diplomatic fallout of the territorial dispute is likely to be serious, which could lead to difficult days ahead for Nepal-India Relations as well as for the South Asian region.

Source: The Hindu