The Centre will construct a fence on the 1,643 km-long border which India shares with Myanmar, Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced on Tuesday. The move will potentially put an end to the Free Movement Regime.

According to Shah, the construction of the fence is aimed at better surveillance.

“The Modi government is committed to building impenetrable borders. It has decided to construct a fence along the entire 1643-kilometer-long Indo-Myanmar border,” Shah said in a tweet on X. “Out of the total border length, a 10 km stretch in Moreh, Manipur, has already been fenced. Furthermore, two pilot projects of fencing through a Hybrid Surveillance System (HSS) are under execution. They will fence a stretch of 1 km each in Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur. Additionally, fence works covering approx 20 km in Manipur have also been approved, and the work will start soon.”

What is Free Movement Regime?

The construction of the fence will potentially put an end to the Free Movement Regime that was established in 2018 as part of New Delhi’s India’s Act East policy. The border runs across four states in the northeast – Mizoram, Nagaland, Manipur, and Arunachal Pradesh. Under the Free Movement Regime, individuals residing in border areas can travel up to 16 km into the neighbouring country without the need for a visa.

Initially instituted to promote local border trade, enhance access to education and healthcare for border residents and boost diplomatic relations between New Delhi and Naypyidaw, growing concerns about illegal immigration, drug trafficking and arms smuggling marred the Free Movement Regime.

The influx of illegal immigrants strained resources and altered local demographics significantly. Apart from this, drug trafficking and arms smuggling from the porous border became a substantial threat to India’s internal security.

In January, Shah said that the Modi government was examining the Free Movement Regime and eventually it would be stopped. At the time, Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma said that his government was opposed to the construction of the fence. However, he noted that his government did not have the authority to stop the Centre from going ahead with the plan, and that the border between the two countries was decided by the British and Mizos on the either side do not accept it.

“If the Centre goes ahead with the plan to fence the Indo-Myanmar border and scrap the free movement regime (FMR), we don’t have any authority to stop it,” Lalduhoma said.