Nearly a thousand residents of the former exclaves who have registered to migrate to India will have to wait a little longer as the Indian government is yet to finalise the modalities of repatriating them.
The migration was scheduled to start on August 1 and continue until November 30. But nobody has left Bangladesh yet because they have not been able to sell their property at good prices.
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India’s initial plan was to accommodate all of the 50,000 residents of its former exclaves – better known as chhitmahals – in Bangladesh. They were getting ready to receive the migrants after Durga Puja in October. The West Bengal government sought an allocation of Rs3,500 crore from the central administration for their rehabilitation.
But since only 979 people from the 111 former exclaves have opted for migration after the joint Bangladesh-India survey, the Indian government is having to revise its finance and accommodation plans, sources said.
“The Indian government wanted to welcome the former exclave people after Durga Puja. But they have not yet managed to complete setting up the temporary camps,” said Habibur Rahman, deputy commissioner (DC) of Lalmonirhat and chief of the Bangladesh survey team.
There were rumours that the migrants would be given apartments to settle down, but there has been no such official announcement.
Read more: Exclaves rife with rumours of Indian aid package
The Dhaka Tribune has learned from sources in the joint survey teams that the rumours were in fact true. The members of the survey committees – comprising DCs of the relevant districts – have reportedly discussed this among themselves.
Those who have already registered for migration – just 0.2% of the total excalve population – were given until 5pm of July 31 in case anyone wanted to stay back. However, it could not be immediately confirmed if anybody had reconsidered their initial choice.
The joint surveys confirmed that nobody from the former Bangladeshi exclaves in India are migrating to Bangladesh.
“Anyone wanting to leave Bangladesh will be allowed to and must apply to their respective DCs to obtain travel passes,” Lalmonirhat DC Habibur Rahman said.
“Those who want to sell their property will also have to apply through their DC offices. If they do not get a fair price, the government will acquire the land at market price,” he said.
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The government will need land to build schools, hospitals and other infrastructure and the process of land acquisition will start after November 30, the DC said.
Four were injured in clashes yesterday in Dasiar Chhara between sellers and buyers of land over counter claims arising from the fact that the land is not registered. The injured were admitted to Phulbari Sadar Hospital in Kurigram district.
