Centre steers clears ₹27,349-cr frontier highway in NE

The central government has approved a 1500-km two-lane Frontier Highway in Arunachal Pradesh and has also cleared funding for the mega highway project. The ₹27,349 crore highway will run close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC). It is seen as one of India's biggest and toughest road construction projects as the LAC separates the Indian-controlled territory from that of China’s. The state government has also approved the project, while the MoRTH has also approved the 1500 km Frontier Highway which would connect all the border areas of the state from east to west with interconnecting roads between the highways of about 1000 km. The development comes at a time when China has built over 600 border defence villages along the frontier with India in Tibet. Some of these villages have come up in Indian Territory under Chinese occupation. The proposed route will start at Mago, which borders Bhutan, and continue through Tawang, Upper Subansiri, Tuting, Mechuka, Upper Siang, Debang Valley, Desali, Chaglagam, Kibithu, and Dong, before coming to an end at Vijayanagar, which is close to the Myanmar border, said official sources.