Keeping Indian Borders Protected

For keeping Indian borders protected Defence services are always conducting joint training exercises, maritime patrolling and increasing road connectivity in border areas. Here is the list of recent activities done by the defence services to keep Indian borders protected:

Road in Arunachal Pradesh:

Government has taken cognisance of the road infrastructure created by China along the international border especially opposite Arunachal Pradesh. In order to provide the required road infrastructure to meet the requirement of defence forces, a holistic plan is under implementation.

Seventy-three roads have been identified as strategic Indo-China Border Roads (ICBR). Of these, 61 roads have been entrusted to Border Roads Organisation (BRO) of length measuring 3417.51 km. Out of 61 ICBRs with BRO, 27 roads of length measuring 1791.96 km are in Arunachal Pradesh.

At present 21 roads of length measuring 661.59 km have been completed which include 11 roads of length measuring 412.70 km in Arunachal Pradesh.

In order to remove the bottlenecks and expedite the construction works the following specific measures has been taken by the Government:

1. Chief Secretaries of various State Governments have been requested to constitute Empowered Committees under their chairmanship with Secretaries of concerned departments as members to resolve issues related to land acquisition, forest/ wildlife clearance, allotment of quarries etc. States of Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, J&K, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand have constituted the Empowered Committee to resolve the issues pertaining to BRO.
2. Ministry of Environment & Forest (MoEF) has given the General Approval under section 2 of forest (conservation) Act, 1980 for diversion of forest land required for construction /widening of roads entrusted to BRO in the area falling within 100 kilometers aerial distance from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and for link roads between Border Roads in the area within 100 kilometer aerial distance from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and National Highways/State Highways/Other roads subject to certain conditions.
3. Outsourcing has been allowed to augment capacity of BRO.
4. Long Term Roll On Work Plan (LTROWP) and Long Term Equipment Plan (LTEP) have been approved.
5. Enhanced financial and administrative powers have been given to the executives of BRO.

In addition to the ICBRs, 66 roads of length measuring 3221.94 km in Arunachal Pradesh are approved in the five year Long Term Roll on Works Plan 2015-2020 for construction or improvement.

Indo - Indonesia Joint Training Exercise:

The opening ceremony of the fourth edition of the Indo- Indonesia Joint Training Exercise GARUDA SHAKTI IV/2016 was conducted at Military Training Area, Magelang, Indonesia. The Indian contingent comprised of platoon sized troops of an Infantry Battalion under Southern Command theatre and the Indonesian Army comprised of 503 Airborne Battalion of the TNI -AD. In an impressive military function the contingents of both the Armies conducted a ceremonial parade where National flags of both nations were marched in. The event was witnessed by senior ranked officers of both the countries.

The ceremony was filled with enthusiasm and has opened another chapter in enhancing ties between Indian and Indonesian Army. The opening ceremony showcased the dedication and commitment towards joint training and the will to share expertise gained in combat by both the armies. Post the ceremony the Indian Army troops were oriented to the terrain and tactical aspects of training.

Maritime Patrolling:

During the last three years (2013 - 2015) and the current year (2016), India has conducted 16 maritime Coordinated Patrols (CORPATs); 6 each with Indonesia and Thailand and 4 with Myanmar. Recently, CORPAT with Myanmar along the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) was conducted from 11-18 February 2016 with opening ceremony at Port Blair, India and closing ceremony at Yangon, Myanmar.

There are no additional expenditure incurred for conduct of CORPATs. CORPATs contribute to peace, friendship and cooperation with our maritime neighbours on the basis of mutual understanding and respect for national sovereign rights and jurisdiction.

Preliminary discussions have been held with Bangladesh for such maritime CORPATs as conducted with other countries.