Strengthening border road network along LAC, LoC
Nishikant Khajuria
JAMMU, Aug 4: Amid Government of India’s thrust on ramping up communication infrastructure along border with China and Pakistan, Union Territories of Ladakh and Jammu Kashmir are the top beneficiaries of the road projects by Border Road Organization (BRO) during the last three years.
BRO has constructed road length of 453.59 kms in Ladakh and 443.94 kms in Jammu Kashmir, which is the highest among all the Union Territories and States, except Arunachal Pradesh.
Information in this regard was given by Minister of State (MoS) for Defence, Ajay Bharti, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.
The Minister disclosed that during the last three years, a total of 2,445.54 kms road length was constructed by the BRO in the border States and Union Territories, which include Arunachal Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Mizoram, Nagaland, Manipur, Sikkim, West Bengal, Rajasthan, J&K and Ladakh.
“For the construction of these border roads, expenditure of Rs 846.46 crores was incurred in the Financial Year 2022-23 while in the FY 2021-22 and 2020-21, expenditure incurred on these road projects was 744.52 crores and 841.22 crores, respectively,” he elaborated.
Pertinent to mention that the BRO constructs roads in the border areas as per the priority fixed by the Armed Forces. Enhancement in the pace of road construction in sensitive border States as well as Union Territories indicates the Government of India’s focus on building new alternative and lateral connectivity to the strategic locations along Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China and Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan.
“To make the border roads accessible in the country along with the steps taken by BRO to make better road system in the border areas, the Government has taken various actions, which include adoption of new technologies to enhance the pace of road construction, procurement of new and modern equipments and construction plants for road construction, adoption of EPC mode of construction, increased availability of air effort, pre and post road safety audit in Area of Responsibility of BRO and enhancement of the Administrative and Financial powers of various BRO executives to reduce the planning time,” informed the MoS Defence.
The Minister further said that maintenance of border roads is carried out as per authorized scale of maintenance while resurfacing is being done as per renewal cycle fixed to keep the roads traffic worthy.
With 507.14 kms road length constructed by BRO in the last three years, Arunachal Pradesh is on the top among all the border States and UTs. It is followed by Ladakh (453.59 kms), J&K (443.94 kms), Uttarakhand (343.56 kms), Rajasthan (311.14 kms), Sikkim (164.95 kms), Nagaland (63.76 kms), Mizoram (53.54 kms), Himachal Pradesh (40.23 kms), Punjab (34.57 kms), West Bengal (18.32 kms) and Manipur (6.30 kms).
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