As BSF mulls 90-km Sundarbans fence, security clashes with ecology
The Border Security Force (BSF) is conducting a feasibility and technical study to erect fencing along a roughly 90-km stretch of the India-Bangladesh border running through the Sundarbans mangrove belt in West Bengal
This stretch has remained unfenced due to the riverine terrain of tidal creeks, embankments and dense mangrove forest, with BSF currently relying on Floating Border Outposts for surveillance instead of physical barriers
Around 71 km of this stretch is contiguous with the Sundarbans Wildlife Sanctuary, a protected area where construction activity is legally restricted
The proposal has surfaced a tension between border security objectives (curbing infiltration and cross-border crime) and ecological protection mandates governing one of the world's largest mangrove ecosystems
Protected Area Categories under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972
The Act creates a graded system of protected areas with differing levels of restriction. A Wildlife Sanctuary is declared under Section 18 and permits limited, regulated human activity; a National Park is declared under Section 35 and applies more stringent conditions, generally prohibiting human activity and requiring legislative sanction to alter its boundaries. Tiger Reserves were given statutory recognition through the 2006 amendment, which inserted Chapter IV-B (Sections 38K-38V) establishing the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
Key Details
- Sanctuary declared under Section 18; National Park declared under Section 35 — both restrict construction and non-forestry activity within their limits
- Tiger reserves have a legally defined core (critical tiger habitat, inviolate) and buffer zone structure under Section 38V, inserted by the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act, 2006
- The Indian part of the Sundarbans carries multiple, overlapping designations: declared a Wildlife Sanctuary in 1977, the core of Sundarban Tiger Reserve since 1973, and a National Park since 1984
- Sundarbans National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (inscribed 1987), part of the Sundarban Biosphere Reserve (declared 1989, joined the World Network of Biosphere Reserves in 2001), and a Ramsar wetland of international importance (designated 2019)
The BSF's proposed fence line runs contiguous to the Sundarbans Wildlife Sanctuary for about 71 km, meaning any construction there would require clearance under wildlife protection law, which is the legal source of the "security clashes with ecology" tension.
India-Bangladesh Border Management Framework
The BSF, raised in 1965 and governed by the Border Security Force Act, 1968, is the lead force guarding the India-Bangladesh border (alongside the India-Pakistan border in the western sector). Border fencing on this frontier is additionally shaped by a 1975 bilateral understanding between India and Bangladesh that restricts the construction of defensive structures within 150 yards of the zero line, a recurring constraint on fencing projects in sensitive or disputed stretches.
Key Details
- The India-Bangladesh border runs about 4,096 km through West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura — the longest land border India shares with any neighbouring country
- The boundary largely follows the Radcliffe Line drawn at Partition in 1947
- The 1975 India-Bangladesh understanding restricts construction of defence-related structures within 150 yards of the zero line, a recurring legal hurdle for fencing works along the border
- Fencing elsewhere on this border has also been slowed by land acquisition disputes and habitations sitting close to the boundary
The Sundarbans is one of the last major unfenced sections of this border; the current study reflects an attempt to extend physical barriers into terrain where riverine geography, the 1975 understanding and protected-area law have historically made fencing impractical.
Mangrove Ecosystems and Coastal Regulation
Mangroves are classified as an ecologically sensitive coastal habitat and fall within CRZ-I (Coastal Regulation Zone) under the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification, 2019, where general norms prohibit new construction except in limited permitted categories. The Sundarbans is the world's largest contiguous mangrove forest, shared between India and Bangladesh, and supports the highest wild tiger population found in any single reserve.
Key Details
- The Sundarbans mangrove delta covers roughly 10,000 sq km, of which about 40% lies in India (West Bengal) and about 60% in Bangladesh
- Mangrove areas are classified as CRZ-I under the CRZ Notification, 2019 — the most restrictive category, alongside areas between the low and high tide lines
- Mangroves serve as coastal storm buffers, carbon sinks, and breeding/nursery grounds for fish and crustaceans, in addition to habitat for the Bengal tiger, saltwater crocodile and numerous bird species
Building a permanent physical fence through mangrove and CRZ-I terrain would likely require clearances beyond simple border-infrastructure approval, including wildlife and coastal-zone clearances, explaining why the BSF study frames this as a security-ecology trade-off rather than a routine infrastructure project.
- Proposed fence stretch under study: approximately 90 km through the Sundarbans, West Bengal
- Approximately 71 km of this stretch is contiguous with the Sundarbans Wildlife Sanctuary (a no-construction protected area)
- Sundarbans National Park (India): declared 1984; UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987; Biosphere Reserve since 1989; Ramsar site since 2019
- Sundarban Tiger Reserve core area constituted in 1973 under Project Tiger
- Total India-Bangladesh border length: approximately 4,096 km, the longest India shares with any neighbouring country
- The Sundarbans mangrove delta spans about 10,000 sq km, roughly 40% in India and 60% in Bangladesh
- A 1975 India-Bangladesh understanding bars defence-related construction within 150 yards of the zero line