Jalpaiguri, May 11 -- The state government's announcement to hand over land to the Border Security Force (BSF) within 45 days for the construction of border fencing and border roads along the Indo-Bangladesh border has raised fresh hopes in South Berubari. However, unresolved land mutation issues in the adverse areas of the region are likely to pose a major challenge for the district administration in implementing the project.
Residents of the adverse villages of Chilahati, Barashashi, Naubari Debottar and Kajaldighi under the Jalpaiguri Sadar Assembly Constituency have made it clear that they will not hand over land for fencing or border road construction unless mutation documents are first issued in their names.
These villages became part of mainland India after partition, and residents have long exercised their voting rights as Indian citizens. However, the villages were formally included in India's official map only after the 2015 India-Bangladesh Land Boundary Agreement. Despite this, land records of residential and agricultural plots in the area still mention Bangladesh's Boda Police Station, preventing the Land and Land Reforms Department from completing mutation in favour of present-day residents.
Krishna Mohan Roy, a resident of Burir Jote, questioned the delay in resolving the issue. "We are Indian citizens. Then why is there such a delay in providing mutation documents for our land? We are hopeful after the announcement made by the new government," he said.
Another resident, Dwijendranath Roy, alleged that farmers are unable to avail benefits under schemes like Krishak Bandhu or sell paddy at government-fixed prices due to the absence of proper land documents.
Polendranath Roy of Fouddar Para said survey work for fencing and border road construction had already been completed in parts of the area. "We have given consent to the BSF for the use of our land. But since the land is not legally registered in our names, neither will we receive compensation nor can the BSF proceed smoothly with construction work," he said.
According to local sources, the four adverse villages together share nearly 19 km of open international border. While around 3.5 km is free from disputes, the remaining 15.5 km continues to face unresolved land complications.
Saradaprasad Das, spokesperson of the South Berubari Pratiraksha Committee, said the committee had repeatedly submitted old maps and land documents to the Land Department during the tenure of the previous government, but the issue remained unresolved.
Jalpaiguri Sadar MLA Anantadev Adhikari said the South Berubari land dispute was one of the most important issues facing the Constituency. He expressed hope that the announcement made during the first cabinet meeting of Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari would finally pave the way for a permanent solution.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.