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India lags behind China in border infrastructure, panel says
India continues to lag far behind China in its plans to construct border military infrastructure for swifter mobility of troops and weapons, which Manohar Parrikar will realize during his first visit to the northeast as defence minister.
Accompanied by Army chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag and others, Parrikar on Saturday is also slated to visit Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, which much like eastern Ladakh continues to be a major flashpoint between India and China. Also on the cards is a visit to the Bum La pass located on the border.
Parrikar's experience there
may be akin to what his predecessor AK Antony described as "an eye
opener" in 2007. When Antony for the first time looked across the Nathu
La border post in east Sikkim, the realisation finally hit home that
China had constructed high-quality roads right till their military
outposts along most stretches of the unresolved 4,057km line of actual
control (LAC).
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Indian troops, in turn, had to struggle through treacherous terrain on foot to reach their forward positions in many sectors, with no proper roads and lateral links as well as the complete lack of rail connectivity.
Eight years later, the story remains somewhat same. "In case of war, the (Indian) Army cannot reach Tawang area in a day. While our neighbouring country can reach the border 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," the parliamentary standing committee on defence said this week, expressing great "dismay".
Leave along the stark asymmetry in military capabilities, India's much-touted plans to build the infrastructure all along the LAC continue to flounder. Only 19 of the 73 "strategic" all-weather roads (which add up to 3,812km) identified for construction along the LAC for better troop mobility almost a decade ago, for instance, have been fully completed till now.
READ ALSO: India, China take positive steps to resolve border dispute This when all the 73 roads, with more east-west lateral links as well as better access routes to strategic peaks and valleys, were to be completed by 2012. The Border Roads Organization (BRO), which has completed only 19 roads (625km) of the 61 roads (3,410km) entrusted to it, continues to regularly miss deadlines.
With the BRO directly under the MoD now, instead of the being part of the road transport ministry earlier, the progress will be much faster now, contend officials. The government is also working to ensure faster land acquisition as well as environmental clearances, which have been among the main reasons for the long delays, they add.
Incidentally, noting the BRO faced "an acute shortage" of manpower, vehicles and requisite machinery, the parliamentary committee said, "In order to compete with our neighbouring countries, especially China, BRO must have the latest, state-of-the-art equipment."
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The MoD, on its part, says 16 of the strategic India-China border roads will be completed this year, with another 13 by 2016, nine by 2017, two by 2018, and the rest thereafter. But only time will tell if these revised deadlines are met.
