To check infiltration, Rajnath writes to CMs
NEW DELHI: To address the issue of infiltration from Bangladesh, home minister Rajnath Singh has written letters to chief ministers of West-Bengal and four Northeastern states to expedite land acquisition for border fencing and the setting up of border out posts (BOP).
“Considering that the fence gaps are predominantly exploited by cross-border criminals for committing crimes like infiltration, smuggling etc., I would like to request you to kindly review the matter personally and resolve the issues at the earliest so that the pending border works may be completed at the earliest,” Singh wrote.
The letters, sent to the chief ministers on March 12, are part of the home affairs ministry’s affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, which is monitoring the progress of border fencing work. A PIL filed by Assam Sanmilita Mahasangha has drawn the court’s attention to the issue of illegal Bangladeshi migrants.
The letters voice concern over the delay in the completion of the fencing work due to failure on the part of the state government to acquire land. Absence of forest clearance has stalled the fence and road work in about 60 km area in Mizoram.
According to the MHA affidavit, the Border Security Force — through special operations and ambush-cum-patrolling — apprehended 961 illegal Bangladeshi nationals during December 2014 and February 2015. MHA said four additional BSF battalions will be raised in 2015-16.
The ministry has also taken steps to delete names of migrants declared illegal by the foreign tribunals from the electoral rolls — over 600 names have been sent during the last two months.
The MHA stated it had approved the appointment of lawyers – with legal experience of 55 years and 10 years - as members of the Foreign Tribunal. For this the Guwahati high court has set up a committee for selecting members for 64 additional tribunals.