West Bengal’s Suvendu Government Hands Over 32 Acres To BSF For India-Bangladesh Border Fencing

In a major step toward securing the international boundary, the West Bengal government has handed over nearly 32 acres of land to the Border Security Force (BSF). The transfer clears a logjam that had delayed critical fencing work along the India-Bangladesh border for several years.

State Panchayat Minister Dilip Ghosh announced the development on Wednesday following a state Cabinet meeting. He confirmed that the administration has also approved additional proposals to transfer land to the BSF, which will be used to establish permanent border outposts and extend fencing across multiple border districts.

Land Allocation Across Key Border Points

The decision marks a shift in policy, directly aligning with the current administration's early governance priorities.

"In keeping with the decision taken at our first Cabinet meeting to hand over land to the BSF for fencing, the government has given 31.905 acres at nine locations in the state along the Bangladesh border," Minister Dilip Ghosh stated.

Beyond the immediate 32-acre handover, the state is moving forward with more land allocations:

Malda, Murshidabad, and Cooch Behar: A proposal to transfer roughly 1.53 acres of land has been submitted to the state Cabinet. The land and land reforms department cleared this move specifically to set up permanent BSF border outposts along these three strategic frontier zones.

Uttar Dinajpur: The minister informed that another proposal is underway to acquire and transfer about 12.72 acres of land to facilitate fencing work across 11 different locations within the district.

Infrastructure Boost for the Sevak–Rangpo Rail Line

The Cabinet meeting also addressed infrastructure and connectivity projects beyond border security. Officials reviewed a proposal to transfer 20 acres of government-owned land in the Nagrakata area of Jalpaiguri district to the forest department. According to Ghosh, these specific land parcels are designated for eventual handover to support the ongoing Sevak–Rangpo railway line project.

Resolving Years of Political and Legal Gridlock

This swift clearance stands in stark contrast to the state's past approach to border management. Land acquisition and transfer for international boundary fencing have long been points of intense political contention in West Bengal.

The previous administration had repeatedly delayed transferring required land parcels to the BSF, stalling federal border security measures. The persistent delays and administrative confusion had previously drawn sharp criticism from the Calcutta High Court, making the current Cabinet's decisive approvals a notable turn of events for the region's border infrastructure.

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