West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday, 27 May announced that a cumulative 142.79 acres of state land has been handed over to the Border Security Force (BSF) for the construction of outposts and barbed-wire fencing along the India-Bangladesh border. The transfer marks a significant step toward the state government's target of transferring 500 acres within 45 days of taking office.

District-Wise Land Transfer Details

In a post on X, Chief Minister Adhikari shared a district-wise breakdown of the land transferred. According to the figures, Murshidabad accounts for the largest share at 38.805 acres, followed by Jalpaiguri (35.165 acres), Cooch Behar (22.95 acres), and South Dinajpur (20.1701 acres).

Other districts contributing to the total include Malda (10.90 acres), Darjeeling (8.815 acres), North 24 Parganas (2.6 acres), North Dinajpur (2.84 acres), and Nadia (0.55 acres).

What the Government Said

Adhikari stated in his post: 'Govt of WB has initiated intensified measures to strengthen border security by facilitating construction of BSF outposts and barbed-wire fencing, further enhancing security in the border areas. Additional land has now been handed over to BSF, taking the total tally to 142.79 acres.'

He added that the transfer is 'in accordance with the decision taken during the first Cabinet meeting of the state government' and described it as 'a significant milestone in progressing towards the target of handing over 500 acres of land within 45 days.'

Background: Cabinet Mandate and Previous Government's Role

The directive to transfer land to the BSF was resolved at the new government's first Cabinet meeting on 11 May. Adhikari had at the time alleged that the previous Trinamool Congress (TMC) government deliberately withheld land to encourage infiltration — a charge the TMC has not publicly accepted.

This comes amid a broader political and legal backdrop. A division bench of the Calcutta High Court, comprising Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen, had in April imposed a personal fine of ₹25,000 on the Joint Director of the state's Land and Land Reforms Department. The court expressed dissatisfaction after hearing a plea that alleged land acquisition payments had been made by the Centre but the land remained untransferred for border fencing work.

Why It Matters

The India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal stretches over 2,000 kilometres and has long been a pressure point for cross-border infiltration and smuggling. Incomplete fencing — attributed in part to delays in state land acquisition — has been a recurring concern raised by central security agencies. The current transfer, if sustained, would represent the fastest pace of border-land handover the state has seen in recent years.

With roughly 357 acres still required to meet the 45-day target, the pace of future transfers will be closely watched by both security officials and the courts.