KOLKATA: Around 32 acres of land have been handed over to the Border Security Force (BSF) by the West Bengal government for fencing along the India–Bangladesh border, completing a process that had been pending for several years.Panchayat Minister Dilip Ghosh said, “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.”Ghosh added that a proposal for the transfer of around 1.53 acres of land in Malda, Murshidabad and Cooch Behar has been placed before the state Cabinet. The land and land reforms department took this decision for the setting up of permanent border outposts along the international border in these three locations.Another proposal has been made to seek the transfer of around 12.72 acres of land for fencing work at 11 locations in Uttar Dinajpur district, he informed further.The Cabinet also considered a proposal for the transfer of 20 acres of government land at Nagrakata in Jalpaiguri district to the forest department. Ghosh further said that these land parcels will subsequently be handed over for the Sevak–Rangpo railway line project.The issue of land transfer has remained controversial in the state, as the previous government had repeatedly delayed handing over land to the BSF for border fencing along the international boundary. The Calcutta High Court had criticised the earlier government for the delays and the confusion surrounding the issue.(With PTI inputs)
