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Taking note of vastly superior infrastructure built by China across the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Defence Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday said that the Government is taking all steps to create matching infrastructure on "our side to realise our military potential."
Though he did not name China while addressing parliamentary consultative committee attached to his ministry, he left no one in doubt about his point of reference when he said "our immediate neighbours have already enhanced infrastructure in proximity to the borders."
He pointed out that the Government has initiated several measures to overcome roadblocks such as procedural delays, environmental clearance and shortage of high-technology equipment to hasten the process of building roads in these critical areas.
Addressing the first meeting of the Consultative Committee after the new Government came to power in May, he said, "Based on the strategic reality of our neighbourhood, the Government is taking all steps to create matching infrastructure on our side to realise our military potential."
As far as India-China border roads are concerned, the Government has initiated building of 73 strategic roads with a total length of 3,812 kms for development in all the States facing China, including Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
Out of these 73 roads, 61 have been entrusted to Border Roads Organisation (BRO), totaling 3,410 kms and it has completed 590 kms on 17 roads. Work on the balance roads is under progress and in different stages of completion.
The Army has prioritised 22 roads structuring upto 3,000 kms for development and the Defence Ministry is closely monitoring the pace of progress made by BRO in building these roads, officials said.
Giving details to the parliamentary body, Director General Border Roads Lt Gen AT Parnaik said the completion of roads was affected due to various reasons. These include delays in obtaining forest and wildlife clearance, difficult terrain conditions, hard road structures, limited working period in a year due to extreme weather conditions, paucity of construction material and challenges posed by natural disasters like flash floods in Leh in 2010, earthquake in Sikkim in 2011, Uttarakhand floods in 2013 and Jammu & Kashmir floods this year.
Parnaik said efforts were made to overcome these factors through greater coordination with Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), modernisation of BRO and induction of more units and resources.
Jaitley thanked MoEF for easing environmental clearances which has helped in progress of road construction. Soon after assuming office as Environment Minister, Prakash Javadekar allowed construction of roads within 100 km of the LAC by the state governments without taking clearance from the Centre.
Taking part in the discussion on Friday, MPs belonging to various political parties highlighted the excellent service done by BRO to the nation since its inception in 1960.
They were, however, critical about the delay in completion of projects so crucial for the safety and security of the country. They were also unanimous in their opinion that BRO should be spared of any budget cuts in the event of austerity measures. Some members wanted that BRO should undergo a "transformational change" to convert it into a highly efficient organisation.
MPs who attended the meeting included Mallikarjun Kharge, Choudhary Babu Lal, Vijay Sampla, Raj Kumar Singh, Saugata Roy, Rajeeve Chandrasekhar, Mahendra Prasad, TK Rangarajan and HK Dua. Minister of State for Defence Rao Inderjit Singh, Defence Secretary RK Mathur, Secretary, Defence Production G Mohan Kumar and Secretary, Defence Finance Vandana Srivastava also attended the meeting.
Source:Will raise infrastructure on a par at LAC: Jaitley
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@pmaitra, @ ladder, @sayareakd, @Bhadra @Srinivas_K, @Blackwater @all others
Though he did not name China while addressing parliamentary consultative committee attached to his ministry, he left no one in doubt about his point of reference when he said "our immediate neighbours have already enhanced infrastructure in proximity to the borders."
He pointed out that the Government has initiated several measures to overcome roadblocks such as procedural delays, environmental clearance and shortage of high-technology equipment to hasten the process of building roads in these critical areas.
Addressing the first meeting of the Consultative Committee after the new Government came to power in May, he said, "Based on the strategic reality of our neighbourhood, the Government is taking all steps to create matching infrastructure on our side to realise our military potential."
As far as India-China border roads are concerned, the Government has initiated building of 73 strategic roads with a total length of 3,812 kms for development in all the States facing China, including Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
Out of these 73 roads, 61 have been entrusted to Border Roads Organisation (BRO), totaling 3,410 kms and it has completed 590 kms on 17 roads. Work on the balance roads is under progress and in different stages of completion.
The Army has prioritised 22 roads structuring upto 3,000 kms for development and the Defence Ministry is closely monitoring the pace of progress made by BRO in building these roads, officials said.
Giving details to the parliamentary body, Director General Border Roads Lt Gen AT Parnaik said the completion of roads was affected due to various reasons. These include delays in obtaining forest and wildlife clearance, difficult terrain conditions, hard road structures, limited working period in a year due to extreme weather conditions, paucity of construction material and challenges posed by natural disasters like flash floods in Leh in 2010, earthquake in Sikkim in 2011, Uttarakhand floods in 2013 and Jammu & Kashmir floods this year.
Parnaik said efforts were made to overcome these factors through greater coordination with Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), modernisation of BRO and induction of more units and resources.
Jaitley thanked MoEF for easing environmental clearances which has helped in progress of road construction. Soon after assuming office as Environment Minister, Prakash Javadekar allowed construction of roads within 100 km of the LAC by the state governments without taking clearance from the Centre.
Taking part in the discussion on Friday, MPs belonging to various political parties highlighted the excellent service done by BRO to the nation since its inception in 1960.
They were, however, critical about the delay in completion of projects so crucial for the safety and security of the country. They were also unanimous in their opinion that BRO should be spared of any budget cuts in the event of austerity measures. Some members wanted that BRO should undergo a "transformational change" to convert it into a highly efficient organisation.
MPs who attended the meeting included Mallikarjun Kharge, Choudhary Babu Lal, Vijay Sampla, Raj Kumar Singh, Saugata Roy, Rajeeve Chandrasekhar, Mahendra Prasad, TK Rangarajan and HK Dua. Minister of State for Defence Rao Inderjit Singh, Defence Secretary RK Mathur, Secretary, Defence Production G Mohan Kumar and Secretary, Defence Finance Vandana Srivastava also attended the meeting.
Source:Will raise infrastructure on a par at LAC: Jaitley
============
@pmaitra, @ ladder, @sayareakd, @Bhadra @Srinivas_K, @Blackwater @all others
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