SHILLONG: The Border Security Force (BSF) has deposited around Rs 110 crore with the State Government for the land acquisition along the Indo-Bangla border for border fencing in Meghalaya.
Speaking to media persons here on Wednesday, BSF Meghalaya IG PK Dubey, said that around Rs 37 crore has been deposited for land acquisition in East Khasi Hills where as Rs 74 crore has been deposited for Jaintia Hills region.
The BSF is yet to fence around 90 kilometers of the Indo-Bangla border in Meghalaya.
The BSF IG also asserted that the force during the survey ensured that no Indian village is shifted to Bangladesh and fencing will be done very close to international border.
He also assured that no village in the Indian side would be displaced after the fencing.The BSF chief added that in some stretches fencing would take place even within 50 yards from the international border.
He also stated that border fencing would reduce criminal movement along the border to a great extent. Dubey added that it would do great benefit if the fencing work along the border is completed before the 2019 elections in Bangladesh.
“We will have better border surveillance with fencing,” he said.
Dubey added that the Supreme Court has set a deadline of September 2019 to complete the fencing along the Indo-Bangla border and recently, the monitoring committee of the apex court visited the state to review the progress of the fencing work.
It was also informed that BSF cannot construct the fencing through the zero line as per the Geneva convention and India and Bangladesh has an agreement on the barriers along the international border.
Meanwhile, the BSF official asserted that cattle smuggling in the state has increased since last eight months and a lot of syndicates from Assam are shifting.
“We have taken special measures and we are conducting joint operations with police,” he said.
The cattle smuggling takes place in certain stretches of the border in East Khasi Hills and Garo Hills.
