The Disputed Area Belt (DAB) is a geographical and political concept referring to a stretch of contested territory along the 512.1 km inter-state boundary between Assam and Nagaland. It is primarily composed of forest land, including Reserved Forests, spanning districts like Golaghat, Jorhat, Sivasagar, and Karbi Anglong in Assam. The DAB's origin lies in the inter-state border dispute that arose after Nagaland was carved out of undivided Assam, with the Nagaland State Act (1962) formalizing statehood without a clear boundary settlement. Nagaland claims the land based on historical pre-colonial or colonial agreements, such as the 16-Point Agreement of 1960, while Assam maintains the constitutional boundary defined in 1963.
The concept of a neutral belt was formalized following the Sundaram Commission (1972), which led to four Interim Agreements to maintain the status quo. Historically, a 10 km wide neutral area was created inside Assam's administrative boundary, divided into sectors like A, B, and C. The mechanism for maintaining peace involves the deployment of the CRPF and Assam Rifles as a neutral force within the DAB. The DAB connects directly to the larger issue of inter-state border disputes in Northeast India and the various commissions—like the Shastri Commission (1985)—that have attempted to resolve the boundary.
The status of the DAB has recently changed regarding resource utilization. On June 11, 2026, the Centre, Assam, and Nagaland signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to restart the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas in the belt. This MoU, described as a major step in cooperative federalism, establishes a coordinated framework for mineral oil operations in the area, which had been stalled for nearly three decades due to jurisdictional disputes. The DAB is considered to hold promising hydrocarbon prospects, and the agreement aims to unlock these resources.