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Roads along China border: Only 18 per cent work done since 2006-07
Roads Along China Border: Only 18 Per Cent Work Done Since 2006-07. In 2006-07, India approved the construction of 73 strategic roads along the Sino-Indian border, but 82 per cent of these - scheduled to be ready by 2012 - are unfinished. The new deadline: 2018.
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New Delhi: In 2006-07, India approved the construction of 73 strategic roads along the Sino-Indian border, but 82 per cent of these - scheduled to be ready by 2012 - are unfinished. The new deadline: 2018.
Despite ambitious plans, India cannot seem to catch up with China in building infrastructure and militarising the 3,488 km border between the two countries. The roads are part of a quiet but extensive Indian border-strengthening plan, which includes a new army corps of 35,000 (down from 90,000) soldiers, specifically to counter China’s burgeoning conventional forces across the Himalayas, and 14 strategic rail links to deploy troops and supplies.
There is little doubt that India is wary of Chinese abilities and intentions, despite recent declarations of peace.
“It is not a volatile border. Not a single bullet has been fired for over a quarter of a century now,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in an interview with TIME magazine ahead of a visit to China.
Modi and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang also agreed to “resolve outstanding differences” and maintain “peace and tranquillity” but on the border, “transgressions” - as Chinese posturing and troop forays along the unmarked Line of Actual Control (LAC) are called - are common. As many as 1,612 transgressions by Chinese troops inside Indian territory took place between 2010 and August 2014, according to data released by the home ministry.
New roads are being built, but progress is slow “While our neighbouring countries can reach the borders within two or three hours, our army takes more than a day to reach there. This is a matter of great concern with regard to our defence preparedness.” This is the observation of a parliamentary committee on defence, alluding to the situation in Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh. No more than 19 of 73 approved roads have been built, according to the report. Delays on 40 roads have pushed deadlines by as far as six years, while construction of two roads has not started.
India envisages urgently building four rail lines in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir, stretching 1,352 km, to be built collectively by the ministries of railways and defence.
While final surveys continue, China is already extending existing rail lines to the border: ToYatung, a trade centre close to Sikkim, and Nyingchi, a small town bordering Arunachal Pradesh. Both projects are expected to be completed by 2020.
