TALWANDI SABO, Apr 12 : Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday said the Centre has decided to shift the border fencing closer to the International Border (IB), emphasising that the move will bring major relief to farmers long forced to cultivate under tight BSF restrictions.
With surveys now ordered across border districts, the move will bring lakhs of acres back within the fenced area, allowing farmers greater access, crop choice, and freedom from limited farming hours and repeated security checks, the chief minister said.
“We had raised this issue many times with the Union home minister for the sake of our farmers living along the border. The fencing along the international border with Pakistan is 3-4 km inside on the Indian territory. As a result, their fields are left beyond the fence,” Mann said in a statement issued here.
Explaining the challenges faced by border farmers, he said, “Farmers are allowed to go beyond the fence for cultivation only at fixed hours decided by the Border Security Force (BSF). They cannot go before 9 am, they are frisked, and accompanied by security forces.
This is to ensure that no smuggled goods or weapons are brought back. After 4 pm, they cannot stay in the fields, and are again searched while returning. A significant amount of time of the security forces is also spent in checking our own citizens.”
Mann said the Union home minister had assured that the issue would be resolved soon.
Farmers have long been forced to cross the fence with identity cards and under BSF escort to reach their own fields, facing daily hardship and uncertainty along the 553-km India-Pakistan border in Punjab, where fencing lies deep inside Indian territory, he said.
“Now letters have been issued to deputy commissioners (DCs) of border districts — Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Fazilka, and Ferozepur — to conduct surveys and assess how close the fencing can be moved to the international border in keeping with the rules,” the chief minister said.
Sub-divisional magistrates have been asked to conduct surveys so that a 300-metre area can be demarcated for the implementation of this decision well in time, he added.
Pointing to the benefits, he highlighted, “Lakhs of acres of land will come within the fenced area, allowing farmers to cultivate freely.”
Emphasising security and relief, he said, “This will also make it easier for the BSF, as being closer to the border will improve visibility and help prevent anti-social activities. I want to announce on this sacred occasion that lakhs of farmers will benefit from this decision.”
Mann, following a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in January, had claimed that the Centre had agreed in principle to shift the security fence closer to the IB, a move that will clear the way for unhindered cultivation of thousands of acres of farmland currently beyond the fencing. (PTI)
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