From Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI: The survey of the adversely possessed lands (APLs) along the international border with Bangladesh will be completed before the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s visit to Dhaka next month, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said here on Monday.
“The lose ends of remaining border survey work and exchange of enclaves would be finished before Dr Singh’s visit to Bangladesh in September,” Chidambaram said while presenting monthly report of his ministry.
The Home Minister, who just returned from Dhaka, said, “contentious border survey work has been stalled time and again due to protest from local people over land rights.”
It may be mentioned that a series of negotiations between survey officials of Meghalaya and Bangladesh led to resumption of the survey of the APLs on Saturday.
After the survey resumed, the joint verification has been completed in Pyrdiwah, Naljuri I and III and Tamabil. The Lyngkhat I and II tracts would be completed soon, a state survey official had said.
Officials of both the countries will meet again to find out a solution for certain conflict areas where there are differences.
The verification of the APLs, beginning at the Sylhet-Meghalaya border, is being conducted by the land records officials from both the countries. The official also maintained that preparation of maps and the process of joint signatures would be over before August 15. The conflict areas include Muktapur, Amki, Amjalong and Rongkon which are claimed by Meghalaya but not endorsed by Bangladesh. According to official records, currently there are 551.8 acres of Bangladeshi land under “adverse possession” of India (Assam and Meghalaya) while 226.81 acres of Indian land is under adverse possession of Bangladesh.On his recent visit to Bangladesh, the Home Minister said he sought handing over of ULFA leader Anup Chetia once his trial was over in that country. Chidambaram also complimented the Bangladeshi leadership for extending “splendid” cooperation in apprehending several top leaders of insurgent outfits of the North-East.