Several news reports emanating from West Bengal—soon after change in the government in the state—appear to indicate that the process of construction of the fence along the border with Bangladesh is being expedited. The reports also appear to imply that the progress in fencing was being impeded because land for the fence was not being provided by the previous regime of West Bengal.
The narrative is that the previous government led by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) was not making the land available because the people illegally entering India from the porous border were a vote bank for the political party then in power. The reality, however, is not as simple.
Here, some facts related to fencing along the Bangladesh border must be brought on record before making such allegations.
Facts, Numbers & Myths
In 2014, former TMC Rajya Sabha MP Ritabrata Banerjee, in Rajya Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3760, had sought responses on whether the fencing work has been completed throughout the country’s international border, how much is left to be covered, and by when the work will be completed.
The then Minister of State for Home Affairs, Kiren Rijiju, replied that the Government of India had sanctioned fencing along the Indo-Bangladesh and Indo-Pakistan borders only. Fencing has also been sanctioned in a small patch along the Indo-Myanmar border.
The MoS also stated that the sanctioned fence work was reduced to 3326.14 km during May 2013.
It may be seen that for a total length of the border of 4,096.7 km with Bangladesh, only 3,326.14 km of fence was sanctioned. The remaining, about 770 km, was not sanctioned because it was not feasible to construct fence in those stretches due to terrain configurations, and due to them being riverine stretches.
As per a statement made by MoS Home Nityanand Rai in Parliament on 16 February 2026, another 409 km of fencing was constructed during almost 12 years, from 2014 till the beginning of 2026. Thus, a total of 3,232 km of the sanctioned fence, i.e. almost 97 percent of it, stood completed by early 2026 before the elections in West Bengal took place.
Thus, only about 94 km of sanctioned fence along entire Bangladesh border (including 2,216-km-long border in West Bengal) remains unfenced. And there are several stretegic and practical reasons for this land remaining unfenced.
Claims, therefore, of 74 percent border in West Bengal remaining unfenced may be factually correct, but they overlook the fact that, along most of the remaining 24 percent (i.e. 567.543 km) border in West Bengal, the work is already in progress on patches totalling 19.516 km, while work on 32.260 km is yet to start.
Out of the above, as per what Border Security Force (BSF) insiders and sources within told The Quint, there were 18 patches of a total length of 13.828 km for which cases were pending at the Ministry of Home Affairs/High-Level Empowered Committee/BSF headquarters for sanctions.
Consultation Needed with Bangladesh
The reasons for work having not started on remaining patches totalling 18.432 km can only be speculated. As per information gathered by this author, the process of land acquisition for these patches has not even started.
Further, a large number of these patches also fall within 150 yards of the border. This means fencing on these patches can only be constructed after a joint survey of the region and with consent of the Bangladesh Border Guards, in accordance with the Guidelines for Border Guarding Authorities.
There are said to be about 250 such patches within 150 yards along the entire 4,096.7 km border, totalling several kilometres in length.
In light of these details, the allegation of non-provision of land for fence by the previous government doesn’t stand scrutiny.
Additionally, there are several patches/gaps totalling about 402.987 km in West Bengal where the fencing is considered to be feasible but is yet to be sanctioned. It is not feasible to construct the fence on the remaining patches totalling 112.780 km because of terrain conditions, especially as the border is riverine.
I tried to bring out these facts as part of a TV news debate recently when the panelist from a particular political party claimed that almost 550 km of the border in West Bengal was not fenced as land was not provided by the previous government. I was, however, abruptly cut short mid-sentence.
While it is the wont of political parties to indulge in rhetoric, it is for professionals to bring out facts and put them in public domain for perspective and a considered view.
Fencing and National Security
According to media reports, the new government in West Bengal is taking measures to expedite the construction of fence in the remaining areas as well as to provide land for the construction of border outposts (BOPs). This is a good step and must be appreciated.
It must, however, be pointed out that sanctioning land for the existing patches may not impact the surveillance of border in any substantial manner as these are patches of small length, distributed all over the 2,200-km-long border in West Bengal. Since the gaps in the fence where these patches exist are relatively very small, the BSF is capable of effectively patrolling these patches.
What is more important for better surveillance of the border is the process of land acquisition for the construction of the fence along the feasible 402.987 km of border in West Bengal, and also in other states.
The challenge is also to simplify the process of land acquistion. At present, the process is too tedious and time-consuming, with clearances required from many departments and individuals under the Land Acquisition Act.
It is also important to urgently introduce technology to keep the riverine borders under surveillance. The Comprehensive Border Management System, which was on trial in riverine stretches, is required to be urgently expanded to cover entire riverine areas. The budgetary requirements for acquiring and installing this technology should not be a constraint as national security cannot be compromised.
Another important aspect is to provide the BSF personnel with machines linked to the Aadhaar portal in order to enable them to identify the people crossing the fence.
It will facilitate identification of illegal entrants and also help verify the nationality of people living in villages across the fence.
Last but not the least, the authorities have to ensure there is adequate manpower available on the border to ensure proper surveillance and domination of border. Repeated withdrawal of troops for long durations leaves the border thinly guarded and compromises security. This also tires out the troops and also has an adverse impact on their human resource management.
It is beyond doubt that the fence is an important barrier to control illegal migration from neighbouring countries. The barrier, however, needs to be reinforced with additional measures to enhance its effectiveness.
(Sanjiv Krishan Sood (Retd) has served as the Additional Director General of the BSF and was also with the SPG. He tweets @sood_2. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)