Report on ‘enclaves’ highlights gaps in promise and delivery

News:More than four years after the Land Boundary Agreement(LBA) between India and Bangladesh, a report released by civil rights organisations has found that the situation in erstwhile enclaves states is not good.

Facts:

About the Land Boundary agreement:

• The Prime ministers of India and Bangladesh had signed the Land Boundary Agreement in 1974 to exchange enclaves and simplify their international border.
• Enclaves refers to territories inside India that actually belongs to Bangladesh and vice versa.
• A revised version of the agreement was adopted by the two countries in 2015 when the Parliament of India passed the 100th Amendment to the Indian Constitution.
• Under this agreement,which was ratified in 2015,India received 51 Bangladeshi enclaves in the Indian mainland while Bangladesh received 111 Indian enclaves in the Bangladeshi mainland.
• The enclave residents were allowed to either continue residing at their present location or move to the country of their choice.
• The exchange of enclaves was implemented on 31 July 2015.After the Land Boundary Agreement,India lost around 40 square kilometres to Bangladesh.

Additional information:

India-Bangladesh Relations:

• India was one of the first countries to recognize Bangladesh and establish diplomatic relations immediately after its independence in 1971.
• The relationship between India and Bangladesh is anchored in history, culture, language and shared values of secularism, democracy, and countless other commonalities between the two countries.
• India and Bangladesh share 54 common rivers.A bilateral Joint Rivers Commission(JRC) is working since June 1972 to maintain liaison between the two countries to maximize benefits from common river systems.
• India has also become a partner in Bangladesh’s nuclear power programme, with the beginning of construction at the Rooppur nuclear power plant.
• Bangladesh is India’s biggest trade partner in South Asia.India’s exports to Bangladesh for financial year 2018-19 (April-March) stood at US $ 9.21 bn and imports from Bangladesh for the same period stood at US $ 1.22 bn.
• India has also granted Bangladesh generous lines of credit(LoCs) and grants mainly for infrastructure and connectivity projects, grants flow into social sector development.