Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has officially commenced the process of transferring land to the Border Security Force for the construction of fencing along the India-Bangladesh border. During the newly elected government’s inaugural cabinet meeting held at Nabanna in Howrah, the Chief Minister announced that this land would be handed over to the Ministry of Home Affairs within 45 days to effectively address illegal infiltration. This decision marks a significant shift in the state’s approach to border management, particularly concerning the 2,216-kilometre international boundary that West Bengal shares with Bangladesh, which remains the longest of any Indian state border. Upon his arrival at the state secretariat, the Chief Minister was accorded a traditional guard of honour before presiding over the high-level session.
In a move to align the state’s legal and welfare frameworks with national standards, the cabinet officially approved the implementation of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), replacing the colonial-era criminal laws. The Chief Minister alleged that the previous administration had failed to adopt these modern legal statutes. Furthermore, the West Bengal government will now participate in major federal healthcare initiatives, including the Ayushman Bharat and Jan Arogya Yojana, which were previously absent in the province. In addition to healthcare, the administration has forwarded all pending petitions related to the Ujjwala Yojana to the federal government to ensure residents can finally access clean cooking fuel benefits.
The Adhikari administration also introduced several measures aimed at governance reform and social justice. The cabinet has decided that the state government will take full responsibility for the families of the 321 party workers who lost their lives during periods of political and electoral violence. The Chief Minister expressed a readiness to launch formal investigations into these deaths if the bereaved families choose to seek legal recourse and demand justice. Administratively, the government has granted a five-year extension for state government jobs and will now permit IAS and IPS officers to participate in central training programmes, a move intended to enhance the professional development and coordination of the state’s top bureaucracy.
With nearly 850 kilometres of the 4,097-kilometre total India-Bangladesh border still lacking a physical barrier, the commitment to expedite fencing is seen as a priority for national security. The Chief Minister emphasised that his government is focused on a transparent and cooperative relationship with the federal authorities to ensure that all central schemes reach the people of West Bengal without delay. By addressing long-standing issues such as border security, legal modernisation, and support for victims of political conflict, the new cabinet aims to establish a distinct trajectory for the province’s governance and public safety.
