West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday announced the handover of 27 km of land to the Border Security Force (BSF) for fencing and infrastructure.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said they are ready to hand over the land along with a few border ot post (BOP) and BSF infrastructure development land. He also alleged that the erstwhile Trinamool Congress (TMC) government did not respond to requests made by the Centre.
Adhikari also mentioned that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had personally requested the former CM to hand over the land, which was turned down. “The safety and security of our great nation is facing a dangerous situation," said the CM, and that whatever land the state government can give, where fencing and security are in question, will be given to the BSF.
“The true patriotic government started its journey, and within 2 weeks, our bureaucrats, especially the land department, Home Secretary and Chief Secretary, worked towards this," added Adhikari.
The CM also hinted that the former government did not cooperate with the Centre, possibly to protect infiltrators. “Of 600km, there is 550km of area where the state government could have given BSF land, but the erstwhile government did not do so for political reasons and high appeasement possibly did not give land," said Adhikari.
43 acres of purchased land in various districts and the sanction of 31.9 acres of vested land was also handed over to BSF in the presence of the Chief Secretary Manoj Agarwal.
“We will be present as key witnesses during the handover," the CM mentioned while speaking of the official handover process of the entire land designated for border fencing.
“We wanted this for fencing and infrastructure for synergy with the state government," said Praveen Kumar, Director General(DG) BSF. “We have seen a change and we are sure we will find this synergy with the state government.”
The CM also invoked the May 14, 2025, directive by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to detain and deport illegal infiltrators from Bangladesh and Myanmar. The Immigration and Foreigners Act 2025 will be invoked in West Bengal, where infiltrators will be identified, detained, arrested and deported to Bangladesh starting Wednesday. “Detect, delete, deport," said Adhikari.
However, those who have applied for the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) or are under the list of seven religions that have faced persecution and are applying for citizenship will not be touched or those who have applied for CAA in advance. Adhikari said the erstwhile government had discouraged the CAA.
“Smuggling areas will be identified and smugglers will be held and added to the list," added the DG BSF.
Adhikari also said there will be periodic meetings at the district level and in areas where meetings should be taking place with the BSF, state police and District Magistrates, which were not done during the erstwhile government’s regime.
The new state government had announced during the first cabinet meeting on May 11, soon after taking charge, that land transfer to Border Security Force (BSF) would take place within 45 days for border fencing.
The move is part of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) manifesto, which promised to stop infiltration from Bangladesh into the state. The BJP had hit out at the former Trinamool Congress(TMC) government, alleging lapses in stopping illegal infiltration and not cooperating in providing land to the Centre for border fencing.
Food and Supplies Minister Ashok Kirtania, who is the MLA from Bongaon Uttar constituency, visited the border area last week to assess the situation and said the process was taking place smoothly. Resistance, however, was seen in the Bashirhat area in the North 24 Parganas district.
West Bengal shares 2,217km of land with Bangladesh of the 4096.7km Indo-Bangladesh border across both countries.