Border roads suffer as clearance takes a back seat

Moreover, only 8 of 36 general staff roads in areas close to China, Pakistan and Myanmar borders have been completed, according to top defence ministry officials, who blamed delay in getting environmental clearances as the biggest “road-block” to complete the projects. All the 73 roads were to be completed by 2012.

Deposing before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on defence, officials said out of 428 proposals on forest and wildlife clearances related to high-priority and strategic roads, only 150 received the formal clearance and 15 were approved in principle.

As many as 193 cases are still pending with various authorities, out of which 122 proposals – 17 in high priority roads and 105 in other strategic roads – are pending for more than a year, which comes in the way of rapid force mobilisation close to the border.

Deploring the Centre’s laggard pace, the panel in its report tabled in the House on Wednesday said despite the government’s so called preferences to these projects, the roads and infrastructure development work was running behind the schedule.

In what may further strain India’s ability for rapid troop mobilisation, three strategic railway links in the north-east is nowhere close to realisation.

While one survey (north Lakhimpur-along-Silapathar) has been completed, survey is yet to commence in other two projects in the mountainous terrain of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.

Besides clearances, availability of helicopters to airlift workers, equipment and inability to work round the year are other bottlenecks for fast completion of these projects, even though money was readily available, said former defence secretary Pradeep Kumar.

Infrastructure remains inadequate in several Indian Air Force bases as well. Out of 52 operational IAF bases, eight bases do not have electrical air field lighting system because of which regular night sorties are not undertaken from these bases.