Rs 45,000 crore-worth project in border states; India's big message to China, Pakistan

NEW DELHI: The central government is floating a new set of projects to establish lightning-fast military movements on the borders of China, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The central government is pushing for major railway development projects to strengthen the infrastructure on the borders. The government will splash Rs 45,000 crore in the next two years for this project.

With the completion of the project, military movements on the borders will be ten times faster than now. The move is the need of the hour considering India’s complex relationship with the three countries sharing the border. Although talks are underway between India and China to resolve the border dispute, China accelerated the development of infrastructure, including airports, in its territory adjacent to the border.

The projects will be implemented in Rajasthan, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal and the northeastern states. The new railway lines will be laid in a way that can also be used for military movements in times of need. This will enable the army and defence equipment to be transported to the borders very quickly.

Along with strengthening the supply chain, the new project will also provide better transportation facilities to the border villages that are still light years away from development. It is reported that 22 per cent of the total investment set aside for railway infrastructure in the next two years will be for developing railway lines on the border.

In the last ten years, 1,700 km of new railway lines have been built in the northeastern states. Along with this, 1,450 km of new roads have been built along the Pakistan border. All this was done with the aim of further strengthening military movements. Along with the construction of roads and railway lines, the unused advance landing grounds in the northeastern region have also been strengthened.