Shillong, Aug 10: Meghalaya’s Border Haats could see expansion as a Parliamentary panel has backed the creation of additional India-Bangladesh border markets to boost local trade, livelihoods and people-to-people ties along the international boundary.
The Fifteenth Report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs (2025-26), presented in the Lok Sabha last month, has highlighted the role of Border Haats in Meghalaya and Tripura as community-based platforms for localised cross-border trade and cultural exchange.
The Committee, examining the “Future of India-Bangladesh Relationship”, said tourism and localised border trade could play a major role in strengthening socio-economic and cultural ties between the two countries.
It specifically commended the existing Border Haats along the Meghalaya-Bangladesh and Tripura-Bangladesh borders, noting that they were designed to improve the livelihoods of people living in remote border areas on both sides.
The panel recommended that the Ministry of External Affairs undertake a feasibility study for additional Border Haats, expressing hope that an expanded network would revitalise border economies and strengthen people-to-people connections.
In its action-taken response, the government said the recommendation had been noted and acknowledged that Border Haats had helped facilitate localised trade and improve livelihoods in border communities.
According to the government, six Border Haats were operational along the India-Bangladesh border before August 2024, while additional haats are currently at various stages of development. Issues relating to the new markets continue to be discussed with Bangladesh.
However, the expansion will depend on consultation with the concerned state governments, feasibility, infrastructure readiness and mutual agreement between India and Bangladesh, the government said.
For Meghalaya, where border communities have long relied on cross-border economic and social links, the parliamentary push could provide fresh momentum to a model aimed at bringing formal recognition and infrastructure to traditional border trade.
