Bangladesh land pact likely in monsoon session

New Delhi, Aug 14 (IANS) The Indian government is actively engaged in "internal consultations" with a view to presenting the land boundary agreement with Bangladesh during the current session of parliament.

"We are in the process of doing some consultations. We will like to bring it in the parliament session," informed sources said here Tuesday.

India and Bangladesh signed a historic land demarcation agreement during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Islamabad in September last year.

The Indian government is required to get the agreement ratified by parliament before implementing it as it involves an exchange of land.

The agreement entails a swap of 111 Indian enclaves in Bangladesh and 51 Bangladeshi enclaves, where around 51,000 people have been living for centuries.

During a meeting between foreign secretaries of the two countries here last month, Dhaka had conveyed its unhappiness about the slow pace of implementation of the land boundary agreement.

India has, however, repeatedly assured Bangladesh that it is trying to fast-track the process of parliamentary ratification of the land pact.

During his recent visit to Dhaka, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh had assured Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina that India will make the land pact a reality soon.