West Bengal to provide 350 acres of land to BSF for border fencing

The West Bengal government has approved the transfer of an additional 350 acres of land to the Border Security Force (BSF) to facilitate the installation of fencing along the India-Bangladesh border. This decision follows a long-standing dispute between the state administration and the BSF over the land required for the project.

The BSF had earlier requested a total of 680 acres for the fencing work. So far, 324 acres have been handed over across Nadia, North 24 Parganas, Malda, and Jalpaiguri districts. However, issues arose regarding the remaining land, leading the state government to seek detailed clarifications on the necessity and exact locations for the additional land. Several rounds of discussions took place to resolve these concerns.

Partial clearance was granted in February, but full approval was only finalized recently after a meeting held in March at the Chief Minister’s office in Nabanna with BSF officials. The matter was conclusively resolved last Sunday during a meeting between top West Bengal officials and Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan.

The land will be acquired from private owners in compliance with government regulations before being officially handed over to the BSF. The fencing aims to curb illegal infiltration and smuggling along the India-Bangladesh border.