Cabinet clears Rs.6,882 cr border roads

The Cabinet Committee on Security in a recent move has not just approved the revised cost estimated Rs.3,482.52 crore for the ongoing road construction project in Doklamat the Bhutan-Sikkim-China tri-junction area of north-east but also cleared an additional Rs.3,400 crore for building 73 strategic roads along the entire belt bordering China. The CCS spearheaded by the Prime Minister, approved the revised cost estimates for the ongoing road known as ICBR-I (Indo-China Border Roads) that has already missed several deadlines. Now the CCS has set 2020 as another deadline to complete the project. As per Home Ministry's records, only 13 roads have been completed in all respects and are in operational use. It may be recalled that the Indian Army had blocked China from proceeding with construction the road which could have given the latter an advantage over the Siliguri corridor, which connects east with North East India. To redress the situation arising out of lack of infrastructure along the India-China border, the Government has decided to undertake construction of multiple roads of operational significance along the 804 km border belt in states like Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.