Government to build 3 axis roads in Tawang

After an earlier parliamentary defence standing committee report mentioned that the Indian Army would take more than 24 hours to reach Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh in case of a conflict, while indicating that the Chinese forces would reach there in just two to three hours, the government has informed the committee that it had already planned to build three axis roads in the area. Flagging another area of concern, the committee also said it is “worried and dismayed” to note from the action taken note that the funds allocated under the capital section for 2015-16 for the Indian Coast Guard is short of the projected requirement by about 50 per cent.

“It is observed from the action taken note that three axis roads are planned and are under different stages of implementation / construction in the Tawang area, which, as observed by the committee in their earlier report too, is a critical issue. The ongoing, as well as pending work on the project, pertains inter alia to: obtaining environmental clearance for undertaking construction of a part of a stretch of the ‘main axis road’ in the Eagle Nest wild life sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh and Namari tiger reserve in Assam; entrusting the construction of the Shergaon-Teli stretch of the road to an international consortium; and taking up the third axis after completing the work on the main axis road” the action taken report tabled by the government in Parliament said.

The Committee expects to be apprised of the current status in regard to addressing the pending issues pertaining to projects. Also, considering the fact that the the Tawang area is of critical importance to the security of the nation, the Committee desire that no effort is spared in ensuring completion of the construction of roads in a phased / timely approach. The Committee desires to be kept apprised on the progress made in this regard on a regular basis,” the action taken report tabled by the government in Parliament on Friday said.

As reported earlier by this newspaper, it may be recalled that the committee had earlier stated, “The Committee are dismayed to note that in Tawang area, the situation is very critical in so far as connectivity is concerned. In case of war, the Army can not reach there in a day. While our neighbouring countries can reach borders within two or three hours, our Army takes more than a day to reach there. This is a matter of great concern with regard to our defence preparedness. The Committee, therefore, recommend to construct good quality roads in this area on priority basis.”

Meanwhile, the Standing Committee also said on Thursday, in its comments on action taken by the government on a recommendation regarding the Coast Guard, “It is indeed worrying and dismaying to note from the action taken note that the funds allocated under the capital section for 2015-16 for the Indian Coast Guard is short of the projected requirement by near about 50 per cent viz., the allocated amount being Rs 1,200 crores as compared to the projected requirement of Rs 2,050 crores. More worryingly, due to the budgetary cut imposed by the ministry of finance, the ICG is carrying over a liability of Rs 675 crore from the previous year 2014-15. Concurrently, the projected requirement under the capital head for various new schemes of the ICG is said to be Rs 4,225 crore. Aspects relating to the security of the nation and more particularly, coastal security, on account of the current threat perception cannot be under-emphasised or ignored in any way. Also, to ward off the possibility of any incident such as that of 26/11, about which the representatives of the ministry themselves had, while deposing before the Committee, expressed concern, the Committee desires that every possible step be taken for ensuring that the functioning / programmes of the ICG do not suffer due to want of funds. This is all the more important, also on account of the huge mismatch between the projected requirement and funds being made available.”

“The Committee note from the action taken reply that severe financial crunch faced by the Indian Coast Guard is largely due to budget allocation not keeping pace with rapid growth of the Services in the past five years. The Indian Coast Guard, which had 61 Ships/Boats, 45 Aircrafts, 20 Stations, 05 Air Establishments, 11 District HQs and 03 Regional HQs in 2008, today has 108 Ships/Boats, 64 Aircrafts, 42 Stations, 09 Air Establishments, 14 District HQs and 05 Regional HQs achieving almost 40% growth since 2009. This growth is a result of CCS directives in 2009 on Maritime Security including Coastal Security. Further, the Committee are concerned to note that expenditure ceiling in respect of CGO for RE 2014 -15 was fixed by Ministry of Finance at Rs.1265 crore in Revenue Section and Rs.1140 crore in Capital Section against the proposal for Rs. 1465.21 crore and Rs. 1491.73 crore in Revenue and Capital Sections respectively. Further, the Ministry of Finance did not heed to the proposal of ICG for granting an additional amount of Rs.300 crore against Revenue Head for non-salary components. All these had negatively affected the operations and maintenance of ICG fleet. Therefore, keeping in view the importance of Maritime Security, the Ministry of Finance needs to be impressed upon for providing adequate allocation to the Coast Guard in the future budgets,” the Standing Committee further said.