Cabinet okays construction of Shinku La Tunnel in Ladakh, gives nod to raise 7 new ITBP battalions

Both the decisions were taken by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), which met earlier in the day.

In a major development, Narendra Modi government on Wednesday approved construction of Shinku La Tunnel to provide all-weather connectivity in Ladakh.

Providing details of the cabinet decision, Union minister Anurag Thakur said the tunnel will be completed by December 2025 at a cost of Rs 1,681 crore.

The length of the tunnel will be 4.1 km. An approach will also be built by December 2025. The Shinkun La tunnel will provide all-weather road connectivity to Ladakh and this will be the shortest route to the border areas of the Union territory, the minister said.

"The Cabinet Committee on Security today approved the Shinku La tunnel for Ladakh area which will provide all-weather connectivity to the Ladakh region with the entire country," the minister said.

"This (project) is also very important as far as the security and safety of the country is concerned.... It will also help in the movement of our security forces in that region," Thakur said.

ITBP gets 9,400 personnel, 7 battalions, 1 operational base for Sino-India LAC deployment

The cabinet also okayed hiring of 9,400 fresh troops for raising seven new border battalions apart from a new operational base for the India-China LAC guarding force Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).

The about 90,000 personnel strong ITBP was raised in the aftermath of the 1962 Chinese aggression and it is tasked with guarding the 3,488-km-long Line of Actual Control (LAC) on India's eastern flank.

The force is working along with the Army at this front even as the militaries of India and China are engaged in a standoff at Ladakh from 2020.

According to the government sanction, the fresh manpower will be utilised for manning 47 new border posts and a dozen 'staging camps' or troops bases to be created along this frontier, largely in Arunachal Pradesh.

These bases were sanctioned in 2020. In order to ensure effective guarding of the LAC, these new bases were sanctioned and now seven battalions and a new sector headquarter comprising about 9,400 personnel have been sanctioned, a senior officer said.

The battalions and the sector headquarter are expected to be put in place by 2025-26, Thakur said.

He said a non-recurring expenditure of Rs 1,808.15 crore is estimated to be spent for land acquisition, creation of office and residential buildings, and arms and ammunition while a recurring annual expenditure of Rs 963.68 crore will be done under the salaries and rations head for the fresh manpower.

Experts say the creation of 47 new border posts will lead to a 26 per cent increase in the strength of these bases while the induction of 9,400 fresh personnel will enhance its strength by 10 per cent. The force has 176 border posts at the LAC currently.