Defence Minister reviews progress of border infrastructure

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh chaired a high-level meeting on Tuesday to review the progress of various infrastructure projects under construction in border areas. The meeting was also attended by Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar and other senior officials of the ministry. The state of forward connectivity to border areas was reviewed and the consistent need of boosting the ongoing projects and to expedite the construction of strategic roads, bridges and tunnels in the border areas was discussed. The Border Roads has executed 30 per cent more works in financial year (FY) 2019-20 as compared to FY 2018-19. 

The BRO has worked incessantly even during the restrictions imposed due to Covid-19 without affecting the progress of various projects.  Despite unprecedented snowfall, breaking 60-year-old record, all strategic passes and roads were cleared this year for traffic about one month before their average yearly opening dates. The Border Roads executed snow clearance works on 149 roads (of 3,965 km) in Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. This ensured rapid and early movement of troops and logistics to forward areas. While complementing the BRO for its achievements, Raksha Mantri exhorted it to continue its work to achieve even greater laurels.

The Border Roads has also inducted latest equipment and machines and has introduced modern construction methods after successful trials to expedite works on surfacing with cementation base, use of plastics, geo-textiles, etc and various techniques for slope stabilisation.  Trials have also been carried out successfully for indigenously produced modular bridges in collaboration with Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Limited (GRSE) under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative.  This will revolutionise the bridge laying capabilities in forward areas. Rajnath Singh lauded the efforts of BRO for their contribution to national security, especially amid India-China LAC tensions.