With PM Narendra Modi giving his nod to implement the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) protocol with Bangladesh, the PMO has asked the ministry of external affairs and home ministry to prepare a comprehensive compensation package for those people who would be transferred to India.
Sources said PM Modi has prioritised the LBA Bill for the budget session for passage and wants both the ministries to decide the final compensation package in consultation with the state governments that would include humanitarian assistance and land to be given to settle about 51,000 people who would come to India once the actual demarcation takes place with exchanging of enclaves and areas under adverse possession.
In line with PMO suggestion, the union home ministry will hold a meeting on December 11 to make the first draft of the compensation package based on the LBA Protocol, the constitution (one hundred and nineteenth amendment) bill, 2013 and recommendation of the standing committee's on the constitutional amendment bill.
Expressing deep concern on humanitarian crisis people in no man's land of enclaves are going through, the standing committee in its recently tabled report has "strongly recommended" the government to keep a blue print ready for development of enclaves and adverse possession areas so that development work can be initiated immediately after the Bill is made an Act and Agreement is ratified.
"Subsequent to this, a larger high level meeting comprising ministers of both external affairs and home will decide the final package in consultation with the state governments concerned that includes West Bengal, Assam and Meghalaya. Afterwards, the package will be sent to the union cabinet for approval and then the constitutional amendment bill will be moved for the passage in the parliament," a senior official said.
Presenting the bill in budget session would also give the BJP party units in Assam and West Bengal the much required breather to scale down their opposition to the LBA protocol. The BJP along with the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) in Assam and with TMC in West Bengal were opposing the LBA protocol tooth and nail for being a big giveaway to Bangladesh.
Their main opposition was that this would suddenly increase Bangladeshi influx and pressure on land as inhabitants of Bangladeshi enclaves in India would also be granted Indian citizenship.
"The state governments will have to take into account the antagonism and threat perception against the people who would be transferred to India and would thus become Indian citizens. This may entail temporary fencing and presence of security personnel for some years," said sources.
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