West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has reportedly initiated the process to transfer 120 acres of land in the strategically crucial Chicken Neck corridor to the Centre.
The narrow Siliguri Corridor, often referred to as the Chicken Neck, links India’s mainland with the northeastern states. The corridor is regarded as one of the nation’s most strategically important regions because of its location near several international borders.
Situated near Siliguri, the corridor is a thin stretch of land flanked by Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh, while also lying close to China’s Tibet Autonomous Region. In some areas, it is only around 20 to 22 kilometres wide, leaving it particularly vulnerable during any military confrontation or geopolitical tension.
The corridor serves as the sole land route connecting the northeastern states with the rest of India. It acts as a crucial artery for transport, trade, defence movement and supply chains to all eight northeastern states. Owing to its critical importance, the area has remained a key focus of India’s defence preparedness and border management policies.
The Union government has not yet provided an official explanation regarding the specific objective behind the land transfer. However, the move could open the door for projects related to defence infrastructure, logistics facilities, improved connectivity or other security-oriented developments in the region.
The development comes soon after Adhikari took oath as Chief Minister following the BJP’s historic victory in the West Bengal Assembly elections, a result widely considered the party’s biggest breakthrough in the state in several decades.
Since assuming office, the Adhikari-led administration has initiated a series of measures, including bureaucratic reshuffles, law-and-order actions, investigations into alleged irregularities involving leaders of the All India Trinamool Congress, and policy decisions linked to governance and strategic coordination with the Centre.
