Government taking all steps to boost border infrastructure: Arun Jaitley

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley today said, based on the strategic reality of the country's neighbourhood, the government is taking all steps to create matching infrastructure on its side to realise itsmilitary potential.

Addressing the first meeting of the MPS of the consultative committee attached to his ministry, after the new government came to power, Jaitley said India's immediate neighbours have already enhanced their infrastructure in proximity to the borders.

Jaitley said the government has initiated several steps to overcome road blocks such as procedural delays, environmental clearance and shortage of high technology equipment to hasten the process of building roads in these critical areas.

As far as India-China border roads are concerned, the government has initiated the development of 73 roads stretching over 3,812 km. Out of this, 61 roads running over 3410 km have been entrusted to the Border Roads Organisation (BRO).

Jaitley said the Army has prioritised 22 roads covering 3,000 km for development. The work on these roads have been taken up by the BRO and is being monitored by the ministry to ensure early completion.

The director general of Border Roads, Lt. Gen. A T Parnaiktold the MPs the completion of roads has been affected due to various reasons such as delay in obtaining forest / wildlife clearance, difficult terrain conditions, hard road structures, limited working period in a year due to extreme weather conditions, paucity of construction material and challenges posed by natural disastersincluding the flash floods in Leh in 2010, earthquake in Sikkim in 2011, the Uttarakhand floods in 2013 and the J&K floods in 2014.