West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said Monday that the state will transfer all land required for India-Bangladesh border fencing to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs [1].
The move aims to resolve a decade-long delay by the previous state administration that hindered the Border Security Force from securing the frontier. Completing the fence is intended to strengthen national security and curb illegal infiltration [1, 2].
Adhikari said that the state government will ensure the transfer of all necessary land within 45 days [2, 3]. This directive follows the Chief Minister's first cabinet meeting, marking a shift in cooperation between the state and the central government regarding border infrastructure [3].
According to available data, the central government has already acquired and paid for approximately 127 kilometres of land [1]. However, the previous state administration had handed over less than eight kilometres of that land to the authorities [1].
The Border Security Force will manage the fencing operations once the land is officially transferred. The project focuses on the volatile stretches of the India-Bangladesh border within West Bengal to prevent unauthorized crossings, and smuggling [2].
By setting a strict deadline, the current administration seeks to eliminate the administrative bottlenecks that stalled the project for years. The transfer will allow the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to proceed with the physical installation of the fence across the remaining gaps [2, 3].
“the state will transfer all land required for India-Bangladesh border fencing”
This decision signals a significant shift in the relationship between the West Bengal state government and the central government. By accelerating land transfers that were stalled for ten years, the state is prioritizing national security infrastructure over the previous administration's restrictive policies, potentially speeding up the Border Security Force's ability to monitor and secure the international boundary.
