India-China Border Roads

India-China Border Roads (ICBR) project is a Government of India programme for developing the infrastructure along the Sino-Indian border by constructing strategic roads. After China has significantly upgraded infrastructure in the Tibetan Autonomous Region with five airbases, an extensive rail network and more than 58,000 km of roads, India is said to be playing catch-up.

As of May 2021, India is constructing at least 177 roads in two phases of over 10,023 km length along its Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China under the “Border Infrastructure and Management Fund” (BIMF) of Ministry of Home Affairs, including 73 roads of 3,323 km length under ICBR-I (Phase-I) approved in 2005 and additional 104 roads of more than 6,700 km length under ICBR-II (Phase-II) approved in 2020. India has set up an inter-departmental “Empowered Committee” (EC) headed by the Ministry of Defence to expedite the issue resolution and timely completion of ICBR infrastructure after the delay in forest/wildlife clearance and land acquisition, rugged terrain, limited working season due to winter and rains, scarcity of construction material, etc. resulted in the missed deadlines in the past. Some of the important already completed projects include the Darbuk-Shayok-Daulat Beg Oldie Road (DS-DBO) and Atal Tunnel under Rohtang Pass; and the under-construction important projects include the Sela Tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh and a road-cum-rail tunnel under the Brahmaputra river in Assam.

Several entities are responsible for constructing ICBR, including Border Roads Organisation (BRO) which handles the bulk of the ICBR road construction work, NHAI, MoDNER, Central Public Works Department (CPWD), National Projects Construction Corporation (NPCC), PWDs of respective states and others. The BRO is responsible for constructing at least 94 ICBR roads, including 61 of the 73 ICBR-I roads and at least 32 of 104 ICBR-II roads. At least 67% of the road network assigned to BRO falls under ICBR.

By end of March 2021, of the 61 ICBR-I roads assigned to BRO, connectivity on 59 roads have been achieved and among these 52 have been black topped, 7 more roads will be black topped by March 2022 and remaining 2 roads will be black topped by March 2023.

History

Strategic infastructure requirements

In the wake of heightened road and track construction work undertaken by China along India’s Northern & Eastern Frontiers, India constituted a China Study Group (CSG) in 1997, to study the requirement of road communication, along the China border for brisk movement of troops in the event of armed conflict. At the end of the study, the CSG identified a network of 73 roads, called the India-China Border Roads (ICBR), to be developed along the Indo-China border. The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) in 1999 approved the construction of these roads by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) under the Ministry of Defence. The project was to be completed by 2006 but the deadline was then extended to 2012. The Standing Committee on Defence, a body for legislative oversight, appraised strategic road connectivity in 2018. With regard to the slow pace of construction of border roads, the Border Roads Organisation stated to the committee:

It would not be incorrect to say that few years back the philosophy of our nation was that we should not make roads as near to the border as possible. That philosophy is telling today very clearly as to why we do not have roads. It is only couple of years back that we suddenly decided a change of philosophy and said no, we must go as far forward as possible. It is going to take time. Unfortunately, the time cannot be compressed. Whatever we can do, it will take time.

— BRO, 50th Report, Standing Committee on Defence (2018-19)

Reasons such as climate, geography, land acquisition and natural disasters also accounted for the delays. In 2013 the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government took multiple administrative decisions to speed up construction. The 2017 Doklam standoff further raised the profile of the issue with the Modi government for border infrastructure along the China border.

Requirement for strategic roads

Ministry of Defence submitted a total operational requirement of 852 roads of length 30118 km to the BRO. Out of this, border roads have been classified under the Long Term Roll on Works Plan (LTRoWP); that is 530 roads spanning 22803 km including 73 ICBRs. The work structure for the ICBRs is divided among different agencies. Out of the 73 ICBRs, BRO was responsible for 61 roads while the remaining to other departments such as the National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC), Central Public Works Department (CPWD), National Projects Construction Corporation (NPCC) and state public works departments. ICBRs are present in Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. Arunachal Pradesh has the most proposed ICBRs numbering 27.

Funds were also diverted from “General Staff (GS) roads” to ICBRs.

ICBR project phases

ICBR-I or Phase-1

Phase-1 or ICBR-1 project was conceived in 1999 with a target completion date of 2012 to construct 73 strategic ICBRs of nearly 4000 km length. It was approved in 2005. Of the 73 ICBR in Phase-1, the construction of 61 roads was assigned to BRO and remaining 12 to CPWD. Of the 61 roads assigned to BRO, 12 roads of 1,064.14 km length in Ladakh, 5 roads of 116.99 km length in Himachal Pradesh, 14 roads of 355 km length in Uttarakhand, 3 roads of 61.98 km length in Sikkim, and 27 roads of 1,725.46 km length are in Arunachal Pradesh. ICBR-I is seen as a successor of BRO’s Project HIMANK which was initiated in 1985 for the construction of border roads in Ladkah.

Current status: As of March 2021, of the 61 ICBR-I roads assigned to BRO, connectivity on 59 roads of 3,205.16 km length have been achieved and only 29 km out of 118.41 km length of remaining 2 roads remains unconnected. Of these 61 roads where connectivity has been achieved, 42 roads of 1,530.38 km have been paved with the black top, 10 roads will be black topped by the end of March 2021, 7 more roads by March 2022 and remaining 2 roads will be black topped by March 2023.

ICBR-II or Phase-2

ICBR-II was approved in 2020-21 fiscal budget, to construct additional 104 roads of more than 6,700 km length. The proposal for the Phase 2 was first conceived in 2013 with the goal of constructing 32 roads along the border, expanded version of which was approved in 2020 with inclusion of additional roads. Amid the India-China skirmishes, the government asked all bodies to speed up the construction of the roads. Additional labour was also sent to these areas to assist in speeding up construction.

ICBR-II covers construction of several roads, 18 feet wide foot tracks and border out posts (BoPs) connecting several LAC Border Patrol Points (PP) and Border Personnel Meeting points (BPM Points). As of 2021, in Arunachal Pradesh alone under the ICBR-II India is building 57 roads, 32 helipads, 47 BoPs, 12 staging camps for ITBP and many 18 ft tracks.

BIMF funding and progress of construction

ICBR infrastructure is funded by the “Border Infrastructure and Management Fund” (BIMF) which provides funding for India’s border infrastructures along Bangladesh, Pakistan and China borders.

Spending on ICBR tripled between 2016 and 2020, from ₹4,600 crore (US$640 million) to ₹11,800 crore (US$1.7 billion). Annual funding was as follows: INR 11,800 crore in 2020-21, INR 8,050 crore in 2019-20, INR 6,700 crore in 2018-19, INR 5450 crore in 2017-18, between INR 3,300 crore to INR 4,600 crore annually from 2008 to 2016.

Due to significantly increased annual funding, the ICBR road construction picked up pace after 2014:

• Road length construction completed: 4,764 km roads during 2014-20 versus 3,610 km during 2008-14.
• Mountain formation-cutting completed: 470 km during 2017-20 versus 230 km during 2008-17.
• Surface-clearing completed: 380 km during 2017-20 versus 170 km roads during 2008-17.
• Bridges completed: 14,450 metres length during 2014-20 versus 7,270 metres during 2008-14.
• Road tunnels completed: 6 tunnels during 2014-20 including Atal Tunnel at Rohtang Pass in the Himachal Pradesh versus 1 tunnel during 2008-14. 19 more road tunnels were under planning and/or construction stage in June 2020.

List of ICBRs

Types of ICBR

Of the 73 ICBR of 3812 km, 61 of 3323.57 km were assigned to BRO, which have been subdivided as follows based on their usage type. China Study Group had identified roads vital for defending the whole LAC at national level. Ministry of Defence had identified sub-national level inter-state and regional roads vital for larger military logistics, which were assigned to CPWD and state PWDs. ITBP which mans the forward staging areas and frontier posts on the LAC had identified strategic roads to connect the individual posts to the main trunk and arterial roads.

Bridges

ICBR has numerous large and small bridges. Following 20 large bridges are more vital and are being specifically tracked by the government and the parliamentary committee on defence. Please help expand this by adding the names of bridges.

Roads

Phase-I alone has 73 roads, please help expand this incomplete list:

Related geo-strategic projects

Geostrategic initiatives

• Andaman and Nicobar Command, integrated command plays an important role in protecting Exclusive economic zone of India and maritime borders of India, hence various military and infrastructure capabilities upgrades are underway.
• Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, among India, Australia, USA and Japan is important to Indo-Pacific geo-strategy especially in countering China in the Territorial disputes in the South China Sea and for the protection of world’s busiest and most voluminous shipping lanes passing through the Bay of Bengal, Strait of Malacca and Singapore Strait.

Border airport and ALG projects

The People’s Liberation Army’s Western Theater Command is responsible for the defense of China along the whole line of actual control with India. The Indian Armed Forces has divided the LAC into 3 sectors – the western sector across Ladakh and the Chinese-controlled Aksai Chin, the central sector across Himachal Pradesh and Uttrakhand, and the eastern sector across Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. Similarly, the Indian Airforce has the Prayagraj-based Western Air Command, Delhi-based Central Air Command, and Shillong-based Eastern Air Command to cover the LAC.

• Ladakh
  • Daulat Beg Oldi ALG serves Trans-Karakoram Tract (Shaksgam), Aksai Chin and Siachen disputed area.
  • Fukche ALG serves Demchok, Trans-Karakoram Tract and Aksai Chin disputed area.
  • Leh Airport serves Trans-Karakoram Tract, Aksai Chin amnd Siachen disputed area.
  • Nyoma ALG serves two separate noncontiguous but closely located disputed twin areas of Chumar North and Chumar South.
  • Padum ALG Serves Ladakh LAC and Kashmir LOC as second line of defence airport.
  • Thoise ALG
• Himachal Pradesh shares 250 km border with China.
  • Shimla Airport, civil airport available for military use. Serves Kaurik, Tashigang-Shipki La and Nelang-Pulam Sumda disputed area.
  • Kullu-Manali Airport, civil airport available for military use. Serves Kaurik, Tashigang-Shipki La, and Nelang-Pulam Sumda disputed area.
  • Kibber-Rangrik, surveyed but as of July 2020 no progress has been made. Will be closest ALG to Chumar, Kaurik, and Tashigang-Shipki La disputed area.
• Uttrakhand has 350 km border with Tibet.
  • Chinyalisaur Airport ALG serves disputed Bara Hoti and Nelang-Pulam Sumda sector. ITBP has 42 BoPs (border outposts) in Bara Hoti sector and Mana Pass area (Nelang-Pulam Sumda sector).
  • Pithoragarh Airport ALG serves disputed Kalapani territory.
• Sikkim
  • Pakyong Airport AGL serves the Doklam disputed area.
• Arunachal Pradesh
  • Aalo ALG
  • Mechuka Advanced Landing Ground ALG
  • Pasighat ALG
  • Tawang Air Force Station
  • Tuting ALG
  • Vijoynagar ALG
  • Walong Advanced Landing Ground (Walong ALG)
  • Ziro ALG
  • Daporijo ALG, Arunachal Pradesh
  • Alinye (ALG), Dibang Valley District, Arunachal Pradesh

Border bridge projects

• Teesta River road bridge in Sikkim, already completed in 2020 will serve Doklam sector.
• Teesta River railway bridge, under construction in July 2020 and on target for completion by December 2020.
• New bridges on Brahmaputra River in Assam will serve Arunachal Pradesh in Eastern Sector.

Border railway projects

India’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) has identified at least 15 new geostrategic rail lines to be constructed near the China, Pakistan and Nepal borders for troop deployments. In comparison, China has built lines up to Shigatse in Tibet, with plans to connect it to Nepal and further to India. After these lines were proposed by the ministry of defense in 2013, the Government of India approved the initial surveys of all 14 lines in 2014, Some of these as well as other related projects are as follows:

Border road projects

• Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh
  • Darbuk–Shyok–DBO Road, completed in 2020 as part of ICBR.
  • Leh–Manali Highway, not part of ICBR, several tunnels are coming up on this to provide whole year connectivity.
• Uttrakhand
  • Char Dham Highway, not part of ICBR,
  • Kalapani territory, newly constructed in 2020 as part of ICBR.
  • Lipulekh Pass road, proposed spur of Kalapani territory road as part of ICBR.
  • Pooh–Chumar Road, not part of ICBR.
• Sikkim
  • Bagrakote-Gangtok Highway: 250 km-long road originating from NH17 (NH31 as per old numbering) near Bagrakote in the Dooars to Gangtok is being upgraded to national highway standard in July 2020 by the National Highway and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited. It passes through Algarah-Lava-Rishyap (in West Bengal on Sikkim border)-Rhenock-Rorathang-Pakyong-Ranipool to Gangtok. In addition to the existing landslide-prone NH10 Sevoke-Gangtok Highway, this will provide the alternate access to state capital Gangtok and beyond to India China border.
• Arunachal Pradesh
  • Arunachal Frontier Highway, proposed along the India-China border and is not part of ICBR.
  • Arunachal East-West Corridor, proposed across foothills of lower upper Arunachal Pradesh, not part of ICBR.
  • Trans-Arunachal Highway, exiting operational highway.

Border tunnel projects

This section needs expansion with: incomplete list. You can help by adding to it. (July 2020)

As of June 2020, ICBRs included a total of 26 road tunnels, of which 7 were complete and 19 road tunnels were under planning stage. As of November 2017, BRO was constructing 17 road tunnels of a total length of 100 km, on some of the 73 strategic roads on Sino-Indian border to provide the year-round all-weather rail and road surface connectivity. Some of these tunnels have dual road and rail usage. Presently, road access to high altitude posts on Sino-India border is closed for six months every year due to snowfall and rain, and supplies are through airlift only. These tunnels will reduce the travel time and operational costs, and eliminate the risk of avalanche and landslide. Some of these tunnels are under construction while others are still in planning stage. A list of tunnels, from west to east along the Indo-Chinese border, is as follows: