Antony pulls up BRO for tardy pace of infra projects

Not satisfied with the pace of work on strategic roads along the boundary with China, Defence Minister A K Antony today pulled up the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and asked it to fast-track the work there.

As part of India's plans to shore up its defences along the boundary with China, the BRO has been entrusted with several important road projects, which include 73 strategic road projects in the northeast and the Prime Minister's package for Arunachal Pradesh and Reconstruction Plan for Jammu and Kashmir.

A significant number of these important projects have been delayed due to various reasons cited by the organisation.

At a review meeting of the performance of the BRO, the Defence Minister expressed unhappiness over the state of these projects and asked the officials to expedite the work there, BRO sources said here.

The meeting was attended by Defence Ministry's Additional Seceratry Anuj Kumar Bishnoi, BRO chief Lt Gen A T Parnaik and other senior officials of the organisation.

The BRO has been taksed to work on 15 strategic roads, 8 Long Term Perspective Plan (LTPP) I, 111 General Staff (GS) roads, 2 PM’s Package for J and K and 9 other roads have been completed and other roads are under various stages of progress.

All the major projects of the force are behind schedule due to one reason or the other and the Defence Minister has been pushing the organsiation hard to complete them in time.

Delay in environmental clearances and lack of heavy machinery at higher reaches of border areas have been cited as the main reasons for tardy pace of infrastructure projects there.