Assam to gain from land Swap deal with Bangladesh, claims Gogoi
By- Correspondent| Date- September 3, 2011
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi claimed that Assam would gain more in the proposed land swap agreement between India and Bangladesh, to be discussed and signed during the Prime Minister’s scheduled visit to Bangladesh on 6th and 7th of this month.
According to Gogoi, the agreement would not only be beneficial for Assam but Assam would gain more land than Bangladesh once the land swapping pact is signed between India and Bangladesh. Stating that there was no demarcation of the border along the disputed stretches, Gogoi suggested that the Indira-Mujib agreement of 1974 could be the base for settling the issue in an honorable and favorable manner for both sides.
The recent controversy on the land dispute over planned land swap between India and Bangladesh took a new turn with the M Ramachandran, Minister of State for Home Affairs stating that Bangladesh is in adverse possession of 665 acres of land in Assam. The minister confirmed this citing report from the Fourth Joint Boundary Working Group (JBWG) meeting held at Delhi in November, 2010. He had disclosed that Bangladesh has 160 acres in adverse possession in Dhubri and 505 acres in Karimganj district of Assam.
It is to be mentioned that Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi had recently indicated settlement of the border dispute through exchange of the land in adverse possession. This had sparked a stir across the state with the opposition, Assam Gana Parishad (AGP) as well as the All Assam Students Union (AASU) staging separate protests against the Chief Minister’s notion of giving away Assam land to Bangladesh. The student’s had body stated that they are against giving an inch of Assam soil to a foreign country.
The land dispute as well as several other issues is expected to be solved during the Indian Prime Minister’s upcoming visit to Bangladesh in first week of September. Both Bangladesh and India are looking forward to this visit, expected to mark historical changes in the Indo-Bangla relationship.