Kolkata, 15 May (H.S.) : The new BJP-led West Bengal government under the leadership of Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has formulated a three-pronged strategy to expedite the long-pending border fencing work along the Bangladesh border by handing over land to the Border Security Force.

According to sources in the state secretariat, the government has fixed a deadline of 45 days to complete the entire process of land transfer and documentation required for the fencing project.

As part of the first phase of the strategy, government-owned land located near unfenced stretches of the international border will be handed over immediately to the BSF. This is expected to enable the force to begin the first phase of barbed-wire fencing without delay.

In the second phase, the government plans to acquire private land adjacent to the border areas. Landowners are likely to be offered compensation higher than the prevailing market value. Once acquired, the land will be transferred to the BSF to facilitate the next phase of fencing work.

The third phase will involve clearing encroached land near the border. After taking possession of such land, the state government will hand it over to the BSF, completing the overall land transfer exercise.

Sources said the process for the first phase has already begun and separate deadlines have been fixed for each stage of implementation. Officials expressed confidence that the entire operation would be completed within 45 days of the cabinet decision approving the plan.

Nandini Chakraborty has been entrusted with supervising the entire process. She has been appointed as the principal coordinator for development works and will oversee the smooth transfer of land and related documents to the BSF.

The issue of providing land for border fencing along the Bangladesh border had remained pending for several years. The Bharatiya Janata Party had included the matter as a key promise in its election manifesto ahead of the recently concluded Assembly elections. During the campaign, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had also stated that handing over land to the BSF would be among the first major decisions of a BJP government in the state.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh