DHAKA, Dec 1: The Indo-Bangladesh land boundary agreement of 1974, widely known as the Mujib-Indira treaty, could not be implemented as the Indian parliament did not ratify it, Foreign Minister M. Morshed Khan told Jatiya Sangsad on Tuesday.

Bangladesh ratified the treaty in 1974 and immediately handed over Berubari union in north Dinajpur of West Bengal but has not yet been given the Tin Bigha corridor in exchange, he said.

Tin Bigha, a piece of land in adverse possession, connects northern Dahagram and Angorpota enclaves with the mainland Bangladesh. Inhabitants of the enclaves have remained virtually confined in absence of the link.

Opposition and independent lawmakers raised questions at the house on Tuesday as to why the Tin Bigha corridor had not yet been handed over even after 30 years of the signing of the agreement.

Morshed expressed optimism that the pending land boundary issues with New Delhi would be resolved in a couple of years through bilateral discussions. About 6.5 kilometres of the 4,200-kilometre land boundary between Bangladesh and India still remains un-demarcated.

A bilateral committee in this regard has already submitted its report, Morshed said. AKM Jahangir of the opposition Awami League, Golam Habib of the Jatiya Party and independent lawmaker M.M Shaheen took part in the discussion.

Dulal said people in Baraibari enclave, surrounded by India, had been living in insecurity and wanted to know if there was any legal way for Bangladesh to reverse the ratification of the treaty. "It is difficult to reverse any international treaty," Morshed said.

Chairing the session during the question-answer session, Speaker Jamiruddin Sircar said, "It was a weak bargain on behalf of Bangladesh in 1974." Replying to a question, the foreign minister informed the parliament that as many as 3,942 Bangladeshis were in jails of different countries. "The government is active to bring them back home," he observed.