The Narendra Modi government has readied detailed project reports (DPRs) to improve infrastructure at the integrated check posts (ICPs) on three international transit routes in north Bengal.

On Wednesday, Nityanand Rai, the Union minister of state for home affairs, told the Rajya Sabha that the DPRs were ready for the ICPs in Jaigaon, Changrabandha
and Panitanki.

“The establishment of ICPs involves multiple stages, including pre-feasibility study, land acquisition, preparation of DPR/DEW, feasibility study, approvals, tendering, etc., which vary depending on location, norms and prerequisites. Preparation of the DPR has been completed for all these 3 ICPs,” Rai said in a written reply to a question made by Samik Bhattacharya, who is also the Bengal BJP president.

Jaigaon is in Alipurduar district on the India-Bhutan border. Changrabandha, in Cooch Behar, is on the India-Bangladesh border, while Panitanki, which is around 30km from Siliguri (in Darjeeling district), is a prominent transit route to Nepal.

For years, there has been a demand to improve the infrastructure of ICPs, especially because the infrastructure and facilities on the other side of the border, like Phuentsholing in Bhutan and Kakarvitta in Nepal, are much better.

“The establishment of the ICPs at Jaigaon on the Indo-Bhutan, Changrabandha on the Indo-Bangladesh and Panitanki on the Indo-Nepal borders enhances cross-border trade and passenger movement. These facilities ensure smooth, streamlined, and coordinated cargo and passenger transit,” the MoS mentioned.

“They bolster connectivity within the India-Bangladesh-Bhutan-Nepal (IBBN) sub-region, thereby improving linkages between the north-eastern region and south-east Asian countries. Additionally, the ICPs contribute to the overall development of border areas,” Rai added.

Representatives of the business fraternity in north Bengal — the region through which cross-border trade is conducted with the three neighbouring nations — have welcomed the development.

“We hope the central government, through its agencies like the LPAI (Land Ports Authority of India), will expedite the process of improving the infrastructure at these transit points. This will facilitate movement of people and goods and will strengthen the economy of north Bengal,” said Surajit Paul, general secretary of the North Bengal
Industries Association.