By Abhishek Bhalla
A grand plan to double the number of troops guarding the India-China frontier in Arunachal Pradesh has not taken off, despite a clearance given by the previous UPA government in April this year.
Keeping in mind increasing Chinese incursions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), authorities had decided that the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) would get greater manpower to secure the border in the north-eastern state.
Approval was given for building 54 new border outposts in Arunachal Pradesh to facilitate better patrolling and to keep a check on Chinese forces.
Sources said that since there is no infrastructure, local residents have been pushed as far as 50km from the border, making the region vulnerable to Chinese forces. Sources said that some years ago, there were villages with sizeable populations up to 5km from the border. They have been pushed back because of the lack of development, making the places vulnerable to intrusion. If people are resettled with better infrastructure, it will prevent Chinese forces from coming in.
With no roads in high-altitude border areas, patrolling is difficult. A road construction project began in 2004, but only about 40 per cent of the work has been done, sources said.
The environment ministry was reluctant to give green clearances for roads and the home ministry was unable to get contractors. The Centre has now shown some urgency in building roads along the LAC by speeding up environmental clearances.
Urgent upgrade
There is also an urgent need to upgrade the ITBP, which has to take on Chinese forces with modern weaponry. As part of a mega police modernisation plan, the ITBP was sanctioned Rs 265 crore for the period between 2012 and 2017. Alarmingly, the force did not get a single penny under this plan.
According to the plan, the force should have got Rs 150 crore till March 2014, but the home ministry did not release any money.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh has said funds for police modernisation need to be doubled.
