NEW DELHI, 19 Jan: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh dedicated to the nation 35 projects of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) built across seven states and UTs, including Arunachal Pradesh, at a cost of Rs 670 crore, during an event organised at Joshimath-Malari Road in Uttarakhand on Friday.
Out of the 35 projects inaugurated, 29 are bridges and six are roads. Eleven of them are in Jammu & Kashmir, nine in Ladakh, eight in Arunachal, three in Uttarakhand, two in Sikkim, and one each in Mizoram and Himachal Pradesh.
In his address, the minister commended the BRO for strengthening the border infrastructure of the country and asserted that, “by constructing roads, bridges etc, the organisation is connecting the far-flung areas with the rest of the nation geographically, while also linking the hearts of the people residing in remote villages with the rest of the citizens.”
Singh highlighted Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government’s approach towards border area development, which, he said, “completely differs from the previous governments.”
“Other governments did not focus on development of border areas as they considered these zones as the last areas of the country. We, on the other hand, consider border areas as the face of India, which is why we’re ensuring that world-class infrastructure is created in these zones,” he said.
Singh stressed that connectivity is being provided to every border area in the country through roads, bridges and tunnels, describing the work as not only of strategic importance, but also pivotal for the welfare of the people residing in these regions.
“People living near the borders are no less than soldiers. If a soldier protects the country by wearing a uniform, the residents of border areas are serving the motherland in their own way,” he said.
He emphasised that the present government considers border areas a part of the mainstream and not a buffer zone.
He described the personnel engaged with the BRO – armed forces personnel, permanent civilian employees and casual paid labourers (CPL) – as “a unique workforce which strives together to strengthen the border framework.”
Listing out the steps taken by the defence ministry to enhance the quality of life and ensure overall wellbeing of the BRO personnel, including CPLs and their next of kin, the minister said that the government recognises the hard work of the people engaged with the organisation.
“We have ensured risk and hardship allowance for permanent civilian personnel of the BRO at par with the armed forces. Ex-gratia compensation of casual labourers has been increased to Rs 5 lakhs from Rs 2 lakhs. Recently, I approved the provision of insurance of Rs 10 lakhs for our CPLs. These steps will help in boosting the morale of our armed forces personnel, civilian employees and CPLs in the BRO,” he said. (PIB)
