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There is fresh tension between the West Bengal government and the Union ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) – this time over cross-border movement of trucks carrying essential goods into Bangladesh through the land borders in the State.
Trucks movement between West Bengal and Bangladesh remained stalled despite an earlier instruction of the MHA to all States sharing international land borders, directing them to allow movement of trucks carrying essentials through their borders.
In a stern letter to the West Bengal chief secretary Rajiva Sinha, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla has demanded an immediate resumption of movement of trucks through the land borders and to report to the Centre that the State had complied with the instructions.
The Secretary said in a letter dated May 5 that the State’s unilateral action to stop the cross-border movement of essential goods would have a larger implication for the Indian government with regard to its legally binding international commitments. India is bound under treaties with neighbouring countries to allow free movement of cargo for cross-border land trade.
He also reminded the State that such acts of stopping movement amounted to a violation of the orders issued by the ministry under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 as well as Articles 253, 256 and 257 of the Constitution of India.
The ministry had in its communication on April 24, directed States to allow cross land border transportation of essential goods through all Indo-Nepal, Indo-Bhutan and Indo-Bangladesh borders and send compliance report to the ministry of home affairs.
The Home Secretary noted his letter to the State Chief Secretary that neither had a compliance report sent by the State nor had goods traffic movement through the border crossings resumed.
The ministry had taken note of reports that a large number of trucks carrying essential supplies, bound for Bangladesh were stranded at different border crossing points and that a number of drivers of such vehicles while returning from Bangladesh were not been allowed to cross the border and were thus stranded in Bangladesh.
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