44 strategic roads to be built along China border

New Delhi, January 13

The government will construct 44 strategic roads along the border with China and over 2,100 km of axial and lateral roads in Punjab and Rajasthan, abutting Pakistan, a CPWD document shows.

According to an annual report (2018-19) prepared and released earlier this month by the Central Public Works Department, the agency has been asked to construct 44 “strategically important” roads along the India-China border to ensure quick mobilisation of troops in case of a conflict.

The nearly 4,000-km-long Line of Actual Control between India and China touches areas from Jammu and Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh. The report comes at a time when China is giving a priority to projects along its India borders. In 2017, Indian and Chinese troops were engaged in a face-off at the Doklam tri-junction after the neighbouring country had begun building a road in the area. The standoff ended following a mutual agreement under which China stopped the construction of the road and India withdrew its troops.

The report stated that these 44 roads along the India-China border will be constructed at a cost of nearly Rs 21,000 crore.

“The CPWD has been entrusted with construction of 44 strategically important roads along the India-China border spanning J&K, Himachal, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh,” the report stated.

It said the process of approval of detailed project reports by the Cabinet Committee on Security is underway. — PTI