Kolkata--Fearing delay in ratifying of the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) by the Indian Parliament due to the ongoing controversy over land acquisition Bill, a group of enclave dwellers, belonging to both the Indian and Bangladeshi sides, have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying they have identified 100 acres of land that they would donate to the West Bengal government to rehabilitate the affected families once the enclave exchange treaty is implemented.
In the letter to the Prime Minister, the Indo-Bangla Enclave Exchange Committee — comprising enclave dwellers from both India and Bangladesh, and political leaders — has also explained that they have made “arrangements” for food grains for six months to feed the affected families.
Given the logjam in Parliament over the land Bill, and the disagreements between the BJP-run central government and the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal, the committee fears that the LBA — which allows India and Bangladesh to swap enclaves embedded in their respective territories — may not be ratified anytime soon.
The ground-breaking accord on the border demarcation and exchange of enclaves was signed by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh in September 2011, but the Indian Parliament has yet to ratify it. It is expected that the government will try to get Bill passed when Parliament meets again on April 20.
Diptiman Sengupta, general secretary of Indo-Bangla Enclave Exchange Committee (India chapter) said they would submit copies of the letter to the district magistrate as well. The letter, which has been accessed by The Indian Express, says that the committee has already identified 100 acres of private land in the Bangladeshi enclaves in India that could be donated to the West Bengal government if land is required for rehabilitation.
Indian Express
