West Bengal handed over 142.8 acres to BSF for fencing India-Bangladesh border: Suvendu Adhikari

Kolkata: The West Bengal government has handed over 142.79 acres of land to the BSF for setting up outposts and barbed-wire fencing infrastructure along the India-Bangladesh border, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said.

The handover is part of the BJP government's decision, taken at its first cabinet meeting on May 11, to transfer 600 acres of land within 45 days for border fencing and related infrastructure projects.

"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 CM said in a social media post late on Wednesday.

He also shared a district-wise chart detailing the land transferred to the BSF across nine districts.

According to the chart, 22.92 acres of land have been handed over in Coochbehar, 35.16 acres in Jalpaiguri, 8.81 acres in Darjeeling, 2.84 acres in Uttar Dinajpur, and 20.17 acres in Dakshin Dinajpur.

Additionally, 10.9 acres has been handed over in Malda, 38.8 acres in Murshidabad, 0.55 acre in Nadia, and 2.6 acres in North 24 Parganas.

As part of the first phase of the initiative, 43 acres of purchased land across five districts and sanction orders for 31.9 acres of vested land were handed over to the BSF on May 20.

The initiative follows a major policy announcement by Adhikari last week outlining a twin-pronged strategy involving accelerated fencing work and stricter administrative measures against illegal immigration.

West Bengal shares a 2,217-km border with Bangladesh, the longest among Indian states.

According to Adhikari, around 1,600 km of the border in the state has already been fenced, while nearly 600 km does not have any fencing.