Bangladesh welcomed on Tuesday India's move to execute the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) as the Indian cabinet approved the constitution amendment bill in this regard on the day.
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday approved the bill for tabling in parliament to operationalise the LBA with Bangladesh. The LBA includes exchange of enclaves in territories of Assam, West Bengal, Tripura and Meghalaya.
"Although we were not told officially, the latest move has inspired us once again about the implementation of the agreement," said state minister for foreign affairs Shahriar Alam while talking to journalists at his ministry on Tuesday.
"Previously we have been assured by the highest authorities of India about implementation of the agreement. We hope that the Indian cabinet's approval will see full implementation of the land boundary agreement," said the state minister.
The bill, to be known as the 119th Constitutional Amendment Act of 2013 allowing the operationalisation of the 1974 India-Bangladesh Land Boundary agreement, is likely to come up in Rajya Sabha today (Wednesday).
"Implementation of the agreement will also help us put forward the Teesta water-sharing issue", said the state minister expressing his hope about an amicable solution to the issue of the Teesta water-sharing.
Although the Indian government earlier planned to exclude Assam from the land swap arrangement because of fierce resistance from the BJP's Assam unit ahead of state elections this year, finally it dropped the plan.
Once it is ratified in Indian parliament, the Act would pave the way for a formal official signing ceremony expected to take place next month (June) when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit Dhaka.
According to Indian media, Modi has been in a hurry to clear this bill in the current parliament session that ends on May 08.
Once implemented, it will solve the problems related to enclaves, adversely possessed lands, and un-demarcated boundary between the two neighbouring countries.
Under the land boundary pact, India and Bangladesh will exchange 162 enclaves which are under each other's possession.
Bangladesh has 51 enclaves with 7,110 acres of land inside India while India has 111 enclaves with 17,160 acres of land inside Bangladesh. The number of population in these enclaves to be around 51,549 -- with 37,334 living in Indian enclaves and 14,215 in Bangladeshi enclaves.
The bill was placed in the Rajya Sabha in 2013 and subsequently referred to a select committee, headed by Shashi Tharoor of Congress, which 'unanimously' recommended implementation of the LBA.
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