NEW DELHI, Nov 27 � Under pressure to ratify the land boundary agreement with Bangladesh, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Tuesday briefed a select group of Lok Sabha MPs belonging to the border States in a fresh attempt to evolve a consensus.
Minister of External Affairs, Salman Khursid, who briefed the MPs belonging to Assam, Tripura and West Bengal, made a detailed presentation about the India-Bangladesh Land Boundary agreement signed during Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh�s Dhaka visit last year. AGP�s Lok Sabha MP, Joseph Toppo attended the meeting.
Sources said that MPs were told about the benefits of the deal. A Constitutional Amendment Bill ratifying the deal is currently pending before the Union Cabinet. The meeting on Tuesday was the latest initiative of the Dr Manmohan Singh Government to work out a consensus.
At the meeting, also joined by top officials of Home Ministry, Border Security Force (BSF) besides the MEA, the MPs were told about the difficulties faced by the various government agencies in administering the enclaves.
It was also impressed upon the MPs that the international border once demarcated and the enclaves in each other�s territory exchanged, patrolling along the border would be more effective, sources said.
According to draft Cabinet proposal titled Constitution Amendment Bill for Implementation of India-Bangladesh Land and Boundary Agreement and Protocol Assam is not going to gain any land but loose over 200 acres in Karimganj and Dhubri districts.
India is to acquire adverse possession of land in West Bengal, Meghalaya and Tripura. While adverse possession of land to be transferred to Bangladesh is in the three States of Assam, West Bengal and Meghalaya.
India would acquire a total land area of 2,777.038 acres. The land to be acquired in the North-East includes Meghalaya (240.578 acres) and Tripura (138.41 acres).
While adverse possession of land to be transferred to Bangladesh is 2267.682 acres. Of the total land identified to be so transferred, Assam would part with 268.39 acres. The State Government would transfer land in Karimganj district (74.54 acres) and Dhubri (193.85 acres).
Meanwhile, AGP MPs on Tuesday called on the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh at his Parliament House Office to oppose the land swap deal with Bangladesh. The AGP cannot be party to any such move, which would compromise the territorial integrity of the country.
All three MPs of AGP including Biren Baishya and Kumar Deepak Das besides Toppo met the Prime Minister and urged him to reconsider the move to hand over land belonging to Assam to Bangladesh. �Accordingly, we will oppose the Bill on the floor of House,� the delegation conveyed.