Guwahati, Mar 23: Illegal immigration from Bangladesh has consistently been a significant topic in political discussions during elections. However, despite various commitments made by political parties, over 600 km of the Indo-Bangladesh border remains unfenced, nearly four decades after the initiative commenced.

According to a report from the Parliamentary Committee on External Affairs, out of the total 4,096 km of the border with Bangladesh, approximately 3,232 km has been secured with fencing.

Currently, about 689 km of the border is still unfenced, with over 174 km being riverine, making it impractical to install fencing in those areas.

“Approximately 690 to 700 km is available for fencing. Local authorities must acquire land in these regions to facilitate the fencing process,” the report cited the Foreign Secretary.

“These areas are also densely populated in certain instances,” the report added.

In 2014, the government informed Parliament that out of the sanctioned 3,359.59 km of fencing, 2,823.10 km had been completed. This indicates that since the BJP took power, only about 409 km of fencing has been constructed, averaging 40 km per year.

The fencing initiative began in 1986, with Phase-I concluding in 2000, during which 854.35 km of fencing was erected.

Considering the total completed fencing by 2014, an average of around 100 km was constructed annually.

In March 2015, the government informed the Rajya Sabha that Phase-II was expected to be finished by March 2014. However, delays in land acquisition, public protests, and other challenges have pushed this timeline back, as noted by the then Minister of State for Home Affairs, Kiren Rijiju.

In July 2016, Parliament was updated that the entire Indo-Bangladesh border fencing was projected to be completed by March 2019. The government also mentioned that fencing would be finalized within three years once the site became available.

In February 2025, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai stated in a Lok Sabha response that 3,232.218 km had been fenced, citing land acquisition issues, objections from the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), limited working seasons, and challenging terrain as obstacles to completing the remaining sections.

India's border with Bangladesh is the longest international border it shares, ranking as the fifth longest globally. The states that share this border include West Bengal (2,216.7 km), Assam (263 km), Meghalaya (443 km), Tripura (856 km), and Mizoram (318 km).