Loksabha clears 119 amendment bill on May 7, 2015

The Loksabha shows rare unanimity in passing the 119 amendment bill which allowed the operationalisation of the 1974 India and Bangladesh land boundary agreement. All the 331 members present in the house, voted for the Bill, which became the 100th Constitutional amendment after approval from the President Mr. Pranab Mukherjee. The Rajya Sabha on May, 2015 unanimously passed the historic amendment Bill that provides for exchange of territories to settle the 41 years old land border issue which received full support from 181 members.

This Constitutional amendment Bill is entered to end the decade of uncertainty for tens and thousands of citizens living in enclaves on wrong side of the homeland border. The amendment allows operationalisation of 1974 India Bangladesh land boundary agreement which refers to acquiring of territories by India and transfer of territories to Bangladesh through retaining of adverse possession and exchange of enclaves in accordance to 1974 agreement.

This Bill has amendment the first schedule of the Constitution which gave an effect to an agreement entered into by India and Bangladesh on the acquisition and transfer of territories between both the neighboring countries. The India and Bangladesh Bill was signed in the year 1974 between the then Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and then then Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Mujibur Rehman. The Bill was the then rectified by the Bangladesh Parliament but not by India, as the Bill involved the transfer of territory which required the Constitutional Amendment.

The Bill refer to demarcated land boundaries which has gone into further modification through the exchange of letters thereafter and a protocol entered on September 6,201. The Bill being the Constitutional Amendment Bill requires further endorsement by the four affected states of Meghalaya, Tripura, Assam, West Bengal. The Bill paves the way for demarcating the border as well as exchange of over 160 enclaves between the two neighboring countries. Bangladesh received 111 enclaves i.e 17,160 acres and India received 51 enclaves i.e 7,110 acres from Bangladesh. Enclaves are landlocked territories that each country has within the borders of the other countries.  

The proposed solution will enable each side to acquire the enclaves within its borders along with other disputed territories. People who are the inhabitants of these enclaves shall have the right to move to live in their original country of nationality or they may have the option to become the nationality of the new country after the exchange. There are 15,000/- Bangladeshi enclaves and with this new Land boundary agreement they will become part of India and the people here have the option to relocate to Bangladesh, as they prefer. Across the border there are around 100 enclaves that officially become part of Bangladesh. The four territories come under the ambit of the Bill.

Home Minister Sushma Swaraj had announced package of 3,008 cr. To West Bengal for rehabilitation of Indian Nationals who will come from Bangladesh, with numbers estimated to reach till 30,000/-. Of this the amount of Rs 775 cr. Will be used for fixed infrastructure and the remaining amount will be for variable expenses, depending on how many people are to be rehabilitated by the state government. The maritime border of India and Bangladesh was also settled last year with the award by the International Tribunal.