Land acquisition hurdles
SHILLONG: The fencing of the 443-km Indo-Bangla border in Meghalaya has made little progress owing to steep opposition from pressure groups and landowners.
A BSF official said on condition of anonymity that the fencing work has been stalled for 3-4 months due to land acquisition hurdles. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked the State to complete work by this year.
The survey for the border fencing was going on when the pressure groups and the landowners opposed despite prior information that around 125 km of fencing in East Khasi Hills and Jaintia Hills districts is yet to be done, the BSF official said.
Locals and NGOs want the fencing to be taken up from the zero line but the Centre wants to construct the fencing 150 yards inside the zero line as per convention.
Stating that smuggling across the border in East Khasi Hills is rampant and fencing is imperative, the BSF official said, “Gates will be set up on the border and, as in the western bordering areas of the country, people here too can go into their land for cultivation.”
Last year, the State government was pulled up by the Home Ministry for the slow progress in the border fencing work. The vast and porous border is used as a route for smuggling livestock, food items, medicines and drugs from India. Illegal immigrants from Bangladesh cross into India in search of a better life. There are gaps in 108 places along the border in Meghalaya and BSF is trying to come up with a technological solution to plug them.