On Thursday, India and Bangladesh will complete a survey asking each of the 51,000 people living in 162 enclaves on the border to give their choice of citizenship of either nation. The survey precedes the exchange of the enclaves between the two nations under the Land Boundary Agreement signed during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Dhaka a month ago.
“More than 90 per cent of the survey has been completed, and we expect to complete registering the choice of most of the residents by July 16,” an External Affairs Ministry official said. The survey teams comprise officials of the External Affairs and Home Ministries and the West Bengal government.
In the past month, 75 camps have been set up — 50 in Bangladesh to survey 37,369 Indians and 25 in India to survey 14,215 Bangladeshis. Officials refused to comment on the survey results, but a non-governmental organisation working in Cooch Behar in West Bengal and on the Bangladeshi side told The Hindu that while most Bangladeshi nationals on the Indian side wanted to remain in India, the decision of Indians on the Bangladeshi side would depend on the compensation offered for their lands. “We have completed several surveys on both sides,” said Diptiman Sengupta, convener of the Bharat-Bangladesh Enclave Exchange Coordination Committee.“Since no one wants to give up their land unless they are guaranteed of compensation, it would be good if the government could clarify what it intends to offer them. This uncertainty is only prolonging their misery,” he said.
Compensation issueThe Union government first announced a compensation package of Rs. 3,000 crore for Indians who cross over into West Bengal, but later clarified that depending on how many moved here, the sum could dip to as low as Rs. 775 crore. Once the survey results are collated, officials from both countries will draw up lists of those who wish to stay on their side and those who wish to cross over and complete the full exchange of residents by November 30.
Officials said clarity over compensation was only one of the problems. With many enclave residents said land mafia groups were pressuring them to sell their land and move, the two governments put a stop to land sales between June 22 and July 30.
The District Magistrate has to be informed of any future sales. In some cases, family members are choosing to part ways with some staying in India and others moving to Bangladesh, or the other way around. A senior official said a man and wife had decided to choose different countries.
