Enclave exchange on July 31 midnight
Staff Correspondent
The transfer of 162 enclaves111 in Bangladesh and 51 in Indiawill be in effect from the midnight of July 31 this year, according to the text of the Letters on Modalities for Implementation of India- Bangladesh Land Boundary Agreement 1974 and Protocol of 2011 to the Land Boundary Agreement. The movement of the residents of the enclaves from one country to another, if they wish to do so, will be complete by November 30, stated the letters that were exchanged on Saturday between the foreign secretaries of Bangladesh and India in the presence of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi. The issues relating to adversely possessed land and border demarcation will be settled by June 30, 2016.
India and Bangladesh agree that Indian enclaves in Bangladesh and Bangladeshi enclaves in India exchanged pursuant to the 1974 Agreement and 2011 Protocol shall stand transferred to the other with effect from the midnight of July 31, 2015, says the text. This shall be referred to as the Appointed Day.
Prior to the Appointed Day, representatives of the both Bangladesh and India will conduct a joint visit to the enclaves to inform the residents about the provisions contained in the 1974 Agreement and the 2011 Protocol, including their rights relating to nationality and citizenship. They will also identify those residents who would wish to retain the nationality they hold prior to the actual transfer of the territories.
This right, however, is available only to those residents who are included in the joint headcount of the enclave population that was finalised and exchanged by the two governments in July 2011, and to the children born to such residents from July 2011 till date.
According to the headcount of 2011, there are 37,383 people in 111 Indian enclaves in Bangladesh covering 17,160.63 acres and 14,090 people in 51 Bangladeshi enclaves in India covering an area of 7,110.02 acres.
The government representatives will also collect data, including photographs, required for the issuance of entry passes or any other document to facilitate the travel and entry of an enclave resident who chooses to retain his/her original nationality. The entry, stay and secure functioning of the representatives during the joint visit, and setting up of camps will be facilitated by both Bangladesh and Indian governments.
The two governments shall facilitate orderly, safe and secure passage to residents of enclaves, along with their personal belongings and moveable property to the mainland of India or Bangladesh, as the case may be, including provision of travel documents.
The travel of those residents who would exercise the option of moving from an enclave to the Indian or Bangladesh mainland, as the case may be, will be arranged by the respective governments through mutual cooperation and will take place by November 30 this year.
Entry/exit points would be Haldibari, Burimari and Banglabandha along the India-Bangladesh border.
Both Bangladesh and India will ensure the safe custody and integrity of land records, whenever available, and other immoveable properties of residents of enclaves till the date of actual transfer when the said enclaves will be vested in the sovereign jurisdiction of the other state and records will be exchanged through the designated district administrations of the two governments November 30.
About the adversely possessed land, the text says that regarding the adverse possessions covered under the 2011 Protocol, India and Bangladesh will print and sign at the plenipotentiary level, and exchange the interim strip maps prepared as provided in Article 3 of the 2011 Protocol, to complete the transfer of territorial jurisdiction on the Appointed Day.
The ground demarcation of the boundary as per the interim strip maps will be completed by the respective survey departments of the two governments by June 30, 2016.
As for un-demarcated boundary, the text says that India and Bangladesh will print and sign at plenipotentiary level, and exchange the interim strip maps of the un-demarcated sectors, as provided in Article 2 of the 2011 Protocol, by the Appointed Day.
The ground demarcation of the boundary based on these interim strip maps will be completed by June 30, 2016.
As for the ownership and transfer of immoveable properties, the enclave residents exercising the option of moving from an enclave to the mainland of India or Bangladesh, as the case may be, will inform the relevant district administrations, prior to the Appointed Day details, about the records and specifications of immoveable property held by them. The respective district administrations will put these records in the public domain prior to their moving so as to avoid misuse or usurpation of such property and to enable sale by the owner of the property.
The two governments will facilitate the remittance of the sales proceeds of the above-mentioned immovable properties as appropriate.
The existing mechanism of India-Bangladesh Joint Boundary Working Group (JBWG) will finalise all further details in this regard. The same mechanism will be used to address any issue that may arise after the transfer for the next five years till June 2020.
Issues pertaining to modalities to facilitate the sale of immovable properties referred above and remittance of such sales proceeds will be addressed by the JBWG at an early date.
