Kolkata: The West Bengal government has handed over about 32 acres to the BSF for fencing along the India-Bangladesh border, a process that was pending for several years, Panchayat Minister Dilip Ghosh said on Wednesday.
Briefing reporters after a state cabinet meeting, Ghosh said the government has also approved proposals to transfer land to the BSF for setting up permanent border posts and carrying out fencing work in some border districts.
“In line with our first cabinet meeting decision to hand over land to the BSF for encirclement, the government has given 31,905 acres at nine places in the state along the Bangladesh border,” Ghosh said.
He said that the land and land reforms department has submitted before the cabinet a proposal to transfer 1.53 hectares in Malda, Murshidabad and Cooch Behar districts for setting up permanent border posts at three locations along the international border.
Another proposal calls for transfer of 12.72 hectares at 11 locations in Uttar Dinajpur district to facilitate fencing work along the border, he said.
The issue of land transfer for border fencing had remained contentious in the state, with the Calcutta High Court earlier criticizing the previous state government for delays in handing over land to the BSF for securing the international border.
Ghosh said the cabinet also considered a proposal to transfer 20 acres of government land at Nagrakata in Jalpaiguri district to the forest department, which would then hand it over for the Sevak-Rangpo rail line project.
