A Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court, led by Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen, has ordered a fine of Rs 25,000 on the Joint Director of the State Land and Land Reforms Department. The court took this action as the land acquisition fee for a barbed wire fence along the India-Bangladesh border was paid by the Central Government, but the land transfer has not occurred.
The High Court expressed dissatisfaction with the state’s handling of the matter and decided to penalize the Joint Director personally. The construction of a barbed-wire fence spanning 128 km along the India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal has been delayed due to the pending land transfer.
Questioning the delay in land transfer, the Chief Justice’s bench was notably displeased with the state’s report. The Joint Director of the Land Reforms Department has been instructed to pay the fine to the Legal Services Authority of the Calcutta High Court from his own funds within 15 days.
The court had previously requested a detailed report on the transfer of the 128 km stretch of land, but the state only provided information on 8 km during the recent hearing. The Chief Justice demanded a comprehensive report for the upcoming hearing and emphasized that the fencing work for 181 km of land remains unfinished.
