Bengal govt to transfer land to BSF for fencing Bangladesh border within 45 days
Infiltration emerged as one of the biggest political issue during the Assembly polls with the BJP accusing the TMC of exercising 'appeasement politics' by allowing Bangladeshi infiltrators.
PTC News Desk: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday announced that process of handing over land to the Border Security Force (BSF) for fencing the India-Bangladesh border would begin from today, with the transfer to be completed within 45 days.
“In our very first Cabinet meeting today, we have taken the decision to transfer the land to the BSF. The process begins today and will be completed within the next 45 days. Once this is accomplished, the BSF will complete the border fencing and the issue of illegal infiltration will be resolved within a short period,” Adhikari told reporters after the meeting.
Infiltration emerged as one of the biggest political issue during the Assembly polls with the BJP accusing the TMC of exercising 'appeasement politics' by allowing Bangladeshi infiltrators.
During the election campaign, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had promised that if the BJP formed the government, all land needed for border fencing would be handed over to the BSF within 45 days.
West Bengal shares a 4,097-km border with Bangladesh. According to the Union Home Ministry, around 3,240 km of the border has already been fenced, while nearly 850 km — including 175 km of difficult terrain — is still uncovered. The BJP has often accused the previous Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) government of delaying the fencing work by not handing over land on time. The TMC, however, argued that concerns related to local landowners and livelihoods had to be resolved before the project could move ahead.
At the press conference, Adhikari claimed that under the previous Mamata Banerjee government, only around 8 km of a planned 127-km stretch had been fenced.
During the TMC government, border security operations remained under the BSF because management of international borders comes under the Centre. However, land acquisition, local clearances and administrative coordination for fencing projects were handled by the state government.
The issue later turned politically controversial after the Centre increased the BSF’s jurisdiction in Bengal from 15 km to 50 km inside border areas in 2021. The move was strongly opposed by the then TMC government, which called it an attack on federal powers.