The government informed the Lok Sabha on Monday that it spent Rs 15,477 crore in the last five years to construct 2,088.57 km of roads in areas bordering China. The renewed focus on developing infrastructure along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China comes at a time when New Delhi is engaged with Beijing in a standoff in eastern Ladakh.
Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt said in total, the government spent Rs 20,767 crore in constructing 3,595 km of border roads in border areas along China, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar in the last five years.
The minister said Rs 4,242.38 crore was spent to construct 1,336.09 km of road along the border with Pakistan, while Rs 882.52 crore was incurred to build 151.15 km road along the frontier with Myanmar in the same period.
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Along the border with Bangladesh, 19.25 km of road was constructed at a cost of Rs 165.45 crore.
In April, the Centre said it had allocated six times more funds for the development of infrastructure along the border in Arunachal Pradesh -- from Rs 42.87 crore in 2020-21 to Rs 249.12 in 2021-22.
India shares a 3,488 km-long Line of Actual Control with China from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh. Arunachal Pradesh shares a 1,126-km-long border with China.
The Indian Army and China's PLA are engaged in a standoff in Ladakh since April 2020 following a violent clash in the Pangong lake areas.
After several rounds of diplomatic and military talks, the two sides completed disengagement process last year on the north and south banks of the Pangong lake and in the Gogra area.
Each side currently has around 50,000 to 60,000 troops along the Line of Actual Control. The 16th round of military talks on July 17 between the two sides to resolve the remaining issues failed to provide any significant outcome.