Bengal hands over 1,024.75 acres to BSF for fencing along Bangladesh border

The West Bengal government has handed over 1,024.75 acres of land to the Border Security Force (BSF) for construction of border fencing and other critical infrastructure along the India-Bangladesh border.

The land transfer covers a stretch of 172.6 kilometres across nine border districts and is expected to expedite several long-pending security projects aimed at enhancing surveillance and securing vulnerable stretches of the international boundary.

Advertisement

The move comes as part of the government’s stated commitment to ensuring national security by facilitating the timely completion of border infrastructure projects.

Officials said the land will primarily be used for the construction of new Border Outposts (BOPs), expansion of barbed-wire fencing and the development of other strategic infrastructure in areas considered sensitive from the security perspective.

The strengthened infrastructure is expected to improve coordination between the BSF and district administrations while enabling round-the-clock surveillance to prevent illegal infiltration, cross-border smuggling and other trans-border crimes.

West Bengal shares an international border of approximately 2,216 kilometres with Bangladesh, the longest border shared by any Indian state.

The frontier passes through riverine, agricultural and densely populated areas, making border management particularly challenging and underscoring the importance of robust fencing and security infrastructure.

Officials mentioned that the largest share of land has been handed over in Murshidabad district, where 337 acres covering 45.4 kilometres of the border have been transferred to the BSF followed by North 24 Parganas where 241.03 acres across 42.07 kilometres were transferred and 135.33 acres covering 39.39 kilometres were transferred in Cooch Behar.

In Malda, 176.78 acres have been handed over for a border stretch of 20.15 kilometres.

Nadia accounts for 95.11 acres over 14.79 kilometres, while Dakshin Dinajpur has transferred 26.41 acres across 7.75 kilometres.

Smaller parcels of land have also been transferred in Darjeeling, Uttar Dinajpur and Jalpaiguri, taking the total land handed over to 1,024.75 acres covering 172.6 kilometres of the international border.

Officials said that for several years, fencing and border infrastructure projects in different districts had been delayed due to disputes over land acquisition.

Recognising the strategic importance of these projects, the state administration recently directed district authorities to expedite the identification and transfer of land required for border development.

Nabanna had issued clear instructions to all district administrations to resolve pending land-related issues concerning border infrastructure projects at the earliest.

Earlier last week, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee formally initiated the land transfer process during a programme at Nabanna Sabhaghar, paving the way for the transfer of land to the BSF for the execution of long-pending works.