New Delhi: Even as the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has set March 2024 deadline to complete India-Bangladesh border fencing work, habitations within 150 yards of the border, pending land acquisition cases and protests by the border populations have posed a stumbling block for the authorities in completing the fencing work.
"Yes there are issues related to protests by local people, land acquisition, riverine areas which are creating problems in fencing the entire border areas," said Ajay Kumar, a member of the Supreme Court assigned committee to look after the facing work of India-Bangladesh border to ETV Bharat.
He said that the authorities are pursuing with the local people seeking cooperation to complete the border fencing work. It was in 2017, the Supreme Court set up a committee to oversee the border fencing work on the Indo-Bangladesh border including the riverine portion.
India and Bangladesh share an international border of 4096.7 km. Of the total border area, 3145 km has already been covered by physical fencing. The government aims to complete the fencing of the remaining 951.70 km by March 2024 by physical and non-physical barriers.
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The non-physical barriers will comprise technological solutions. Sanction has also been accorded to replace the old design fence."There have been some problems in the construction of fencing in certain stretches on this border due to riverine and low-lying areas, habitations within 150 yards of the border, pending acquisition cases and protests by the border population, which delay the completion of the project," the MHA said in the latest report.
The MHA said that fencing is a must for stopping infiltration, smuggling, and other anti-national activities from across the India-Bangladesh border. The Indian side of the Indo-Bangladesh border passes through West Bengal (2216.7 km), Assam (263 km), Meghalaya (443 km), Tripura (856 km) and Mizoram (318 km).
Significantly, a proposal for the construction of 422 composite border outposts (BOPs) at an estimated cost of Rs 2,584.85 crore has earlier been approved by the government. "Out of 422 composite BOPs to be constructed both along the India-Bangladesh and India-Pakistan border, 326 of such BOPs are to be constructed along the India-Bangladesh border. The project is targeted for completion by March 2024," the MHA said.
As a large portion of the India-Bangladesh border is marked with riverine areas, the government has also decided to undertake the work of installation of floodlights in West Bengal, Meghalaya, Assam, Mizoram, and Tripura. "Out of 3077.549 km border flood light sanctioned along the border, 2681.99 km work has been completed. The ongoing work is to be completed by March 2023," the MHA said.
