Strategic road development - News/Discussions

arnabmit

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House panel rings alarm bells over border readiness against China, Pak - The Times of India

NEW DELHI: India's operational military and infrastructure readiness on its borders with China and Pakistan is dismal due to the government's lack of long-term strategic planning and timely decision-making as well as the shoddy performance of DRDO and defence PSUs in delivering weapon systems to the armed forces.

This much-needed red alert has been sounded by the parliamentary standing committee on defence, after a rare review of the "threat perception, preparedness of the forces and border connectivity", in its latest report tabled in Parliament.

"What can be more disturbing than the fact that our nation is lagging behind in all areas of border connectivity, whether it be road, rail or air," said the committee, taking note of China's build-up of massive infrastructure all along the 3,488-km Line of Actual Control (LAC).

China can swiftly mobilize over 30 divisions (each with over 15,000 soldiers) to the LAC to outnumber Indian forces by at least 3:1, with at least five fully-operational airbases (Gongar, Pangta, Linchi, Hoping and Gar), an extensive rail network and over 58,000-km of roads in the Tibet Autonomous Region, as reported by TOI earlier.

The committee also slammed the defence ministry for its failure to ensure proper military modernization despite facing a twin-threat from China and Pakistan. The sharp decline in the number of IAF fighter squadrons (each has 18-20 jets), for instance, shows "lack of foresight among the decision-makers" because the grim situation would have been averted with "advance planning" and "concerted efforts", it said.

IAF will continue with just 34 squadrons till at least 2017, despite the ongoing induction of 272 Sukhoi-30MKI fighters because of the progressive phasing out of the ageing MiG fleets, when it needs at least 42 squadrons to face all exigencies. Negotiations for the much-delayed $20 billion MMRCA (medium multi-role combat aircraft) project, under which IAF is to induct 126 French Rafale fighters, should be "completed at the earliest" with the procurement being "accelerated", said the committee.

But a major part of the report dealt with India's "very dismal" air, road and rail networks on the border. "What can be more appalling to learn than that many of the border passes from China side are now connected with roads," it said.

From "nil achievement" on the 14 strategic railway lines to extremely poor progress on the 73 all-weather roads identified for construction along the "northern borders" with China, the committee said, "It's shocking to note only one road out of the 27 ITBP roads is complete, and as many as 11 roads are behind schedule and not even detailed project reports have been finalized."

The committee "repudiated" MoD claims that infrastructure development was being implemented in consonance with threat perceptions. "The committee is baffled to learn that an issue so serious as providing border connectivity through rail in the north-east region and other strategic places is taking the rounds of bureaucratic tables," it said.

"The three pillars of plan, budget and procurement, on which defence preparedness of our country hinges, should get proper attention by all stakeholders, policy-makers... the budget should not come in way of defence needs," it added.
 

cobra commando

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Facelift of 230-km Arunachal Border Road Completed in 5 Years

ITANAGAR: The Border Roads Organisation has given a facelift to the fragile and landslide-prone 230-km Roing-Hunli-Anini road, particularly the 9-km long Andolin bypass, and opened it to vehicular movement after five years of hardwork. "It took almost five years to open this bypass due to its toughness. Nevertheless, our team of dedicated officials and labourers worked till the last to open the route in March last," 752 GREF Commander Girish Prasad Singh said yesterday. In order to expedite the project, the 725 BRTF, based at Khonsa (Tirap), was shifted to Roing in (Lower Dibang Valley) in 2012, he said. Owing to the terrain and altitude, the Roing?Hunli?Anini road still remains cut off from the rest of the state during monsoon. The 62 RCC was, therefore, permanently based at Hunli, 9 km from Roing, to monitor and repair the road whenever the need arose, he said. The usual challenges include the frequent change of course of the river Deopani during rains, mudslides and landslides on the 81.6 km road between Roing and Hunli and the 81.1 km Hunli-Anini road during rians. Sources in the 752 BRTF said a proposal for a double?lane road had been taken up to connect Anini with all-weather roads. Once it was in place, it would aid military deployment and fortify the socio-economic situation of the civilians. The diversion from the 16 km point on the Roing?Hunli road, known as Greenfield alignment, would run along the bank of the Dibang river and join the Hunli- Anini road at the 21.5 km point, the sources said.
Facelift of 230-km Arunachal Border Road Completed in 5 Years - The New Indian Express
 

arnabmit

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Delhi HC orders board to review the alignment of the Kashmir rail link project

Almost 12 years after construction began on the 126 km long Katra-Banihal section of the rail link to Kashmir, a bench of the High Court of Delhi has ordered the railway board to conduct a review of the alignment by setting up a committee of experts.

The High Court division bench, consisting of Justices Badar Durrez Ahmed and Siddharth Mridul, has directed the railway board to judge the relative technical merits and demerits of the existing and the proposed alternative alignment by an expert committee (which will include E Sreedharan, former chief of DMRC) within eight weeks: the board has been asked to take a decision regarding the alignment and other issues like cost within four weeks thereafter.

The order has come in response to a PIL filed by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL). Prashant Bhushan, appearing for CPIL, argued that "the review of alignment which railway board had conducted from Februrary 2008 to August 2009 was scuttled by internal manipulations within the board, and as a result the board decided on 31.08.09 to retain the existing flawed alignment without properly examining vital stability and safety issues. Board also failed to consider an alternative alignment that was stable, safe and economical".

COMPARISON OF THE EXISTING AND THE ALTERNATIVE ALIGNMENTS

The existing slope-skirting alignmentThe alternative alignment
About two-third of the line will be resting on unstable mountain slopes along the geological fault-linesCrosses most of the fault-lines at close to 90 degrees
Many large bridges situated on landslide-prone locations on the mountain slopesOnly seven bridges, all of which are at the base of a valley
Several long, highly curved tunnelsPredominantly straight tunnels
A mega-arch bridge of 500 m length at 259 m above the bed in a gorge in Chenab riverThe largest bridge has a length of 160 m and height 160 m
A single-line route will cost about Rs 20,000 croreA double-line route is likely to cost about Rs 18,000 crore

He further said that despite the earlier orders by the Delhi High Court in December 2009 and September 2012, the railway board did not seriously consider CPIL's representation that the board should review its August 2009 decision to retain the existing flawed alignment.

The Qazigund-Katra leg of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link Project was announced by the then-PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2002.

The target was to open the line in five years, that is by 2007. However, in the 126 km long stretch from Katra to Banihal, the construction ran into serious engineering problems. By 2007 hardly 10 percent of the work could be done. Several tunnels collapsed during construction and work on none of the major bridges could even be started.

In February 2008, the railway board began a systematic review of the alignment after a study by the chief engineer AK Verma, which said that the existing slope-skirting type of alignment, which has a gradient of one in 100, is unsuitable for the terrain and geological conditions of the region, which will result in serious problems of stability and safety and make construction very difficult. He proposed adoption a new alignment with a gradient of about one in 40, which he had developed, that will cross the fault-lines favourably at close to 90 degrees, with predominantly straight tunnels and much smaller and fewer bridges.

A high level expert committee was set up with the approval of the ministry of railway August 2008 to study both the existing and the alternative alignment, but its work was marred by serious omissions and inconsistencies.

The CAG, in its December 2012 report on performance audit of the Kashmir project, made a scathing indictment of the railway board for mishandling the alignment question right from the inception of the project. By July 2012, only 12-14 percent of the work had been done, and the cost had increased four to six folds. About 93 km of the original alignment stands abandoned. Total financial implications of abandoned alignment have been put at Rs 3,258 crore by the CAG.

[PDF]http://www.governancenow.com/sites/default/files/temp/ALIGNMENTS%20ON%20GOOGLE%20MAP.pdf[/PDF]
 
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NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Environment and Forests on Thursday announced that it would soon bring policy changes to fast track environmental clearances for building border roads and defence projects in areas up to 100 km from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China. The decision was made after Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar met senior Defence Ministry officials headed by its Secretary R K Mathur. Several projects of strategic importance have been stuck for want of green clearance and a majority of these are in the northeast and Jammu and Kashmir. Javadekar said delays in defence projects were due to case- by- case decision making and his ministry is now drafting a policy framework for clearing such projects. "Instead of the case-by-case delayed method of approval, we are making simpler, transparent and predictable process of approvals. We are evolving policy-based solutions to the existing problems of environment clearances," he said and added that the new framework will ensure fast track approval for the border roads and defence projects without hampering environmental conservation. Elaborating further, Javadekar said the move was intended to cut delays due to environmental clearance processes particularly for defence projects and the details of the policy framework would be worked out soon and the document made available in the public domain. Once drafted, the Defence Ministry would no longer need to approach the Environment Ministry for green clearances for constructing border roads and strategically important projects along the LAC. States would also be empowered to decide on these matters without compromising on environmental issues.

Soon, Faster Green Nod for Border Infra - The New Indian Express
 

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1800km strategic road project on China border put on fast track

The Centre has decided to put the construction of 1800km long strategic road in Arunachal Pradesh on fast track. The most ambitious strategic border road project till date will join Tawang the western most point in Arunachal Pradesh with the easternmost point of Vijaynagar via Bomdila. The project cost is expected to run close to Rs 25,000 crore. Overlooking Chinese position along the Himalayan ridge close to the McMahon line the project was envisaged during UPA II regime in 2005, but was hanging fire due to several glitches, including environmental clearances and monetary constraints. The decision to put the project on fast track came at a meeting held by the junior minister in the home ministry, Kiren Rijiju. Army chief Dalbir Singh Suhag, DG Border Road Organisation and top officials of ministry of environment and forests and road surface transport were also present at the meeting. The Chinese have already built excellent infrastructure all along the McMahon line putting them in highly advantageous position against Indian interests. Sources said that the BRO has been asked to get serious about the project or else the project could be opened for the private players. The ministry of environment and forests has also been asked to get clearances in advance and remove glitches. "The project is essential for us to connect our far flung and remote villages. We want this project to be completed during the five year tenure of our government," MoS (home) Kiren Rijiju said.
1800km strategic road project on China border put on fast track | Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis
 

Dhairya Yadav

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As I have to both of our volatile borders, I must say that BRO is making the best roads in India . On a lighter note, i didnt understand what BRO meant a yr ago and I say a sign besides the roads that said -
"Keep Trust in BRO" .My elder cousin brother was driving. As expected, I cracked up laughing :rofl:
 
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sgarg

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Border roads are necessary, not only for military but also for economic development. India should go ahead with the road development.

As for China - the policy is simple - tell them firmly it is none of their business.

India does not see any benefit in military confrontation with China. India desires good relationship at both economic and cultural level. India wants to build understanding between Chinese and Indian people. India believes that a long term friendly relationship with China is in its best interests.
 

Hari Sud

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If it says five years to complete the road, then double it. It is nature of terrain and tall mountains, fast rivers and deep gorges. It will take that long. Five years stated is usually political correct statement, not a practical one.

Terrain on India side is totally different than in Tibet. The latter is endless grassland, although at 7,000 feet. It is so easy to build roads in Tibet. Building roads on Indian side is five times harder. Chinese would know it when they see it. They did not see enough it in 1962. They used jungle trails to bypass Indian army strong points. Later they used Indian built Tawang - Tezpur road to move supplies, although three months of supplies they captured on top of SELA Pass. Hence they did not have too much supplies from Tibet.

Relax, in about ten years these roads will be complete. Would the Chinese be interested to pick up a fight with India then?

I guess not.
 

nehamathur.fpj

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Sonia Gandhi has done nothing except making money. Now that Narendra Modi's government is ruling, roads from all over India will improve slowly and gradually.
 

sasum

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I am layman about strategic issues but it defeats me why so much importance given to border roads? & sunk crores of rupees when they are the first Infrastructures to be destroyed by artillery, bombs ?
 

Nuvneet Kundu

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I am layman about strategic issues but it defeats me why so much importance given to border roads? & sunk crores of rupees when they are the first Infrastructures to be destroyed by artillery, bombs ?
Even with an artillery barrage, the statistical probability of hitting a road is very less, more so if these are mountainous roads which are beyond the line of sight for China. And whatever little they do manage to hit will still be constrained by the range of an average artillery shell, 40Km at max or 100Km for MBRL from the border, which is the same damage we can inflict on the adversary's road transport infrastructure. The point of collision of two militaries always sees more attrition to infrastructure in the immediate neighborhood but this is a small area and the enemy will also have to contend with trying to hit our strategic assets like tanks, and defending themselves from our barrage.

Your frontline infrastructure might take a beating like all your other resources will; but it will be a small part of the massive road network that runs thousands of kilometers deep into mainland India. Is it a good excuse to stall the building of thousands of kilometers of roadways which run from the mainland to the border, just because a small portion of it might be vulnerable to attack? These roads serve as a logistical umbilical cord to supply warfighting material for our frontline troops. There's more to 'border roads' than just roads that happen to lie near the border.
 
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Indx TechStyle

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I am layman about strategic issues but it defeats me why so much importance given to border roads? & sunk crores of rupees when they are the first Infrastructures to be destroyed by artillery, bombs ?
Because, if these roads will not be made,

Army could not able to transport very fast at wartime and enemy could snatch our territory. They could destroy our internal infrastructure and could cause more damage.
Better to invest less in these roads instead of investing very high money after damage caused due to war.
Leave alone humiliation due to losing war and weakness in international politics caused by losing.
 

sasum

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Because, if these roads will not be made,

Army could not able to transport very fast at wartime and enemy could snatch our territory. They could destroy our internal infrastructure and could cause more damage.
Better to invest less in these roads instead of investing very high money after damage caused due to war.
Leave alone humiliation due to losing war and weakness in international politics caused by losing.
Transporting logistics, personnel thru border roads is a 2nd world-war routine. Nowadays heavy lift copters like Chinook & jumbo transport aircraft like Globemaster do it & they place the men/ materials at precise location at shortest notice. Border roads on our side in Arunachal Pradesh sector will make it easier for Chinese army to make inroads in case Indians are forced to backtrack.
 

Nuvneet Kundu

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Transporting logistics, personnel thru border roads is a 2nd world-war routine. Nowadays heavy lift copters like Chinook & jumbo transport aircraft like Globemaster do it & they place the men/ materials at precise location at shortest notice. Border roads on our side in Arunachal Pradesh sector will make it easier for Chinese army to make inroads in case Indians are forced to backtrack.
The Tibet plateau and the Indian plains are separated by mountainous ranges. If the Chinese climb over that mountain range and slide down our side, the logistics supply route behind them will be under severe strain and impossible to sustain. It's childish to say that we shouldn't build roads on our side because the enemy might use it. The roads on either sides of the mountains only serve their purpose upto the foothills of the mountain.

By the way, will your beloved chief minister be in favor of wasting money on self-defense and purchasing all these useless things like Globemasters and Chinooks? shouldn't we be spending it on more important things like free food, giving free water, free electricity, free internet, free tampons to Delhites?
 

HariPrasad-1

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If it says five years to complete the road, then double it. It is nature of terrain and tall mountains, fast rivers and deep gorges. It will take that long. Five years stated is usually political correct statement, not a practical one.

Terrain on India side is totally different than in Tibet. The latter is endless grassland, although at 7,000 feet. It is so easy to build roads in Tibet. Building roads on Indian side is five times harder. Chinese would know it when they see it. They did not see enough it in 1962. They used jungle trails to bypass Indian army strong points. Later they used Indian built Tawang - Tezpur road to move supplies, although three months of supplies they captured on top of SELA Pass. Hence they did not have too much supplies from Tibet.

Relax, in about ten years these roads will be complete. Would the Chinese be interested to pick up a fight with India then?

I guess not.
Bloody we are making additional Rs 1 lakh crore out of the duty on petrolium. Open the treasure. Make construction of all the roads complete by 2019. Down size government machinery and useless staff. Pay them very less in initial period. Save non planned expenditures. Make all possible efforts to build best infrastructure along with china and Pakistan border.
 

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