Amit Shah says West Bengal border fencing blocked by previous government

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on 21 August that neither West Bengal nor India will be secure until the state’s frontiers are properly fenced. He placed the blame for the delay on the previous state government led by Mamata Banerjee, which he said had refused to provide land despite repeated requests.

Shah noted that the current Chief Minister, Suvendu Adhikari, had attended programmes organised by the Sashastra Seema Bal and the Border Security Force, something no previous chief minister of the state had done. He presented the attendance as evidence of a shift in the state’s approach to border management.

The India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal runs through densely populated and riverine terrain. Fencing projects have faced obstacles ranging from land acquisition disputes to local political resistance. Shah’s remarks framed the absence of fencing as a direct security risk rather than a technical or administrative problem.

Border management in the region has long involved the BSF and SSB. Cross-border movement, cattle smuggling and occasional infiltration have remained persistent concerns. The Home Minister’s statement linked those concerns to the specific failure to acquire land for physical barriers.

By naming the previous administration, Shah turned a policy dispute into a partisan one. The current state government under Adhikari has signalled greater cooperation with central forces. Whether that cooperation translates into accelerated land transfer and construction remains to be measured on the ground.

The statement comes at a moment when national attention on eastern border security is high. Shah’s language left little room for ambiguity: fencing is presented as a non-negotiable requirement, and the previous government’s refusal is presented as the principal obstacle. The next concrete step would be the actual transfer of land parcels and the start of construction work.