West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday said that a total of 142.79 acres of land across nine districts has been handed over to the Border Security Force (BSF) so far for the construction of outposts and barbed-wire fencing.
Adhikari said that the land transfer is part of the Bengal government’s commitment to provide the BSF with fencing land within 45 days. During the first Cabinet meeting held on May 11 after the formation of the new government in the state, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had said that the government had decided to transfer land to the BSF for erecting fencing along the Bangladesh border.
In a post on X, Adhikari said: Govt of WB has initiated intensified measures to strengthen border security by facilitating construction of BSF outposts and barbed-wire fencing, further enhancing security in the border areas. Additional land has now been handed over to BSF, taking the total tally to 142.79 acres.
The Chief Minister also shared district-wise details of the land handed over to the BSF. According to the break-up, land has been handed over in the border districts of Cooch Behar (22.95 acres), Jalpaiguri (35.165 acres), Darjeeling (8.815 acres), North Dinajpur (2.84 acres), South Dinajpur (20.1701 acres), Malda (10.90 acres), Murshidabad (38.805 acres), Nadia (0.55 acres) and North 24 Parganas (2.6 acres).
In accordance with the decision taken during the first Cabinet meeting of the state government, this initiative has emerged as a significant milestone in progressing towards the target of handing over 500 acres of land within 45 days, the post added.
The Chief Minister had earlier said that land would be handed over to the BSF within 45 days for fencing work along the states borders. He had alleged that the previous Trinamool Congress government withheld land to encourage infiltration.
It may be recalled that a division bench of the Calcutta High Court comprising Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen, in April imposed a fine on the Joint Director of the state Land and Land Reforms Department.
The order came while hearing a plea alleging that although the Central government had paid the land acquisition amount, the land had not been handed over for the construction of barbed-wire fencing along the India-Bangladesh border.
The High Court expressed dissatisfaction over the state governments report and imposed a personal fine of Rs 25,000 on the Joint Director of the Land and Land Reforms Department.