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In first cabinet meet, Suvendu Adhikari okays BSF land transfer for border fencing, sets 45-day deadline
Suvendu Adhikari took charge as Bengal chief minister on Saturday, May 9, 2026, in presence of top NDA leaders and PM Modi.
In his first cabinet meeting after assuming charge as West Bengal chief minister, BJP's Suvendu Adhikari approved the land transfer to the BSF for fencing along the Bangladesh border and approved immediate implementation of the Census exercise in the state.
The process of transferring land will start from Monday and will be completed within 45 days, he said.
"In the backdrop of steadily changing demography in Bengal's bordering districts, our cabinet has approved the beginning of the process of handing over necessary land to the BSF for setting up border fences. The Chief Secretary and the secretary of the state's land and land revenue department have been asked to complete the process of land transfer within the next 45 days," Adhikari was quoted as saying by PTI.
Suvendu's first cabinet meeting was attended by the five ministers who took oath with him on Saturday.
As he also gave nod to the start of Census exercise, he took the opportunity to take potshots at previous TMC government under party supremo Mamata Banerjee for delaying the process. He alleged that the previous government had ignored a circular, dated June 16, 2025, that was sent to the West Bengal government from the Office of the Registrar General of India under the Union ministry of home affairs, intimating about the impending Census exercise in the state.
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"The TMC government betrayed the Constitution and the people and deliberately kept the Census exercise on hold in Bengal so that women's reservation could be stopped. The cabinet has granted immediate sanction for the circular to take effect in the state," Adhikari was quoted as saying.
The chief minister also alleged that the new criminal law of Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), replacing the erstwhile IPC and CrPC, wasn't officially implemented by the TMC government in the state and said the first cabinet meeting has granted official sanction to the new law to come into force.
The cabinet also approved a proposal for a five-year extension in the age limit of school job applicants, as promised by Union Home Minister Amit Shah during the poll campaign, he said.
"The Bengal cabinet empowers the chief secretary to take steps to initiate central government training for officers under the national and state cadres," Adhikari said.
