India's border roads are in a shambles in contrast to China's aggressive infrastructural engagement on the eastern front, reports Mayank Singh
The key to sound military infrastructure are roads and if for some reason, or a couple of reasons, they become a low-priority subject for defence planners, then the basic movement of troops is likely to be affected when they are required the most. Bad or non-motorable roads, as the 1962 China debacle revealed, failed to facilitate faster troop movement, equipment mobilisation and deployment in the forward areas of the then North Eastern Frontier Agency (NEFA).
Five decades down the line, the same handicaps dominate the same topography – India’s eastern border against China's military might. Even as China has assiduously built military infrastructure along the 4,056-km Line of Actual Control (LoAC) in the three sectors – Ladakh, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim/Arunachal sectors – the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), the country’s premier defence road construction agency is in shambles, thanks to red tape, infighting and political apathy.
The paralysis in BRO is viewed gravely by defence analysts and military experts who have raised the spectre of low-level border infrastructure coming in the way of the country’s defences. Experts paint a sordid picture: there is high level of frustration and discontent in BRO as projects have been delayed and costs overrun are the rule, rather than exception. Insiders say the future of 72 strategic roads in critical border areas hang in balance and construction work has slowed down.
The BRO is split into 18 projects, each headed by a Chief Engineer or a Brigadier-level officer from the army. Of them, General Reserve Engineering Force (GREF) officers head only five – the rest is with the army. So in terms of experience and technical qualifications, both GREF and the army stand as equals – at least in theory.
Problems begin right at the top. Nearly 52 years after it was set up, no recruitment rules for the post of the Director General Border Roads (DGBR) has been made. Former DGs of the BRO, most of them army officers, accept that there is no restriction on a civilian heading the organisation. The delay in appointing heads then would seem inexplicable.
In such circumstances, operations are a major casualty. There is acute shortage of officers at the levels of Assistant Executive Engineers and Executive Engineers which are dominated by serving officers from the army. The AV Singh Committee, set up by the Ministry of Defence in 2008, was designed to improve career mobility by bringing down the age profile of commanding officers and improve professional prospects. But a cursory look at the sanctioned strength and the number of personnel posted in BRO would reveal scarcity at operational posts.
Significantly, an Indian Army grappling with its own problem of scarcity of officers, has kept the posts pending.
The BRO is a combined civil-military project. Its authorised strength comes from army, the salary is paid for from the budget of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and the DG BRO, for instance, figures on the official list of MoRTH and is the main interface between the BRO and other ministries.
When it came to hiking salaries during the Sixth Pay Commission, armed forces had justifiably put up their case strongly. But when it came to GREF, there were double standards. Their request to have one of its officials to represent their point of view was conveniently overlooked.
There are other issues like Separated Family Accommodation (SFA) and allowances. Army officers posted in remote and tough conditions are given SFAs along with various allowances, but GREF officers in similar situations have to make do with their own arrangements. Experts say there have to be ways and means to evolve a mechanism so that there is a sense of parity in the difficult job at hand. For instance, the high mortality rate of the BRO personnel is a clear indication of the hazards they face. (See box)
The key to sound military infrastructure are roads and if for some reason, or a couple of reasons, they become a low-priority subject for defence planners, then the basic movement of troops is likely to be affected when they are required the most. Bad or non-motorable roads, as the 1962 China debacle revealed, failed to facilitate faster troop movement, equipment mobilisation and deployment in the forward areas of the then North Eastern Frontier Agency (NEFA).
Five decades down the line, the same handicaps dominate the same topography – India’s eastern border against China's military might. Even as China has assiduously built military infrastructure along the 4,056-km Line of Actual Control (LoAC) in the three sectors – Ladakh, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim/Arunachal sectors – the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), the country’s premier defence road construction agency is in shambles, thanks to red tape, infighting and political apathy.
The paralysis in BRO is viewed gravely by defence analysts and military experts who have raised the spectre of low-level border infrastructure coming in the way of the country’s defences. Experts paint a sordid picture: there is high level of frustration and discontent in BRO as projects have been delayed and costs overrun are the rule, rather than exception. Insiders say the future of 72 strategic roads in critical border areas hang in balance and construction work has slowed down.
The BRO is split into 18 projects, each headed by a Chief Engineer or a Brigadier-level officer from the army. Of them, General Reserve Engineering Force (GREF) officers head only five – the rest is with the army. So in terms of experience and technical qualifications, both GREF and the army stand as equals – at least in theory.
Problems begin right at the top. Nearly 52 years after it was set up, no recruitment rules for the post of the Director General Border Roads (DGBR) has been made. Former DGs of the BRO, most of them army officers, accept that there is no restriction on a civilian heading the organisation. The delay in appointing heads then would seem inexplicable.
In such circumstances, operations are a major casualty. There is acute shortage of officers at the levels of Assistant Executive Engineers and Executive Engineers which are dominated by serving officers from the army. The AV Singh Committee, set up by the Ministry of Defence in 2008, was designed to improve career mobility by bringing down the age profile of commanding officers and improve professional prospects. But a cursory look at the sanctioned strength and the number of personnel posted in BRO would reveal scarcity at operational posts.
Significantly, an Indian Army grappling with its own problem of scarcity of officers, has kept the posts pending.
The BRO is a combined civil-military project. Its authorised strength comes from army, the salary is paid for from the budget of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and the DG BRO, for instance, figures on the official list of MoRTH and is the main interface between the BRO and other ministries.
When it came to hiking salaries during the Sixth Pay Commission, armed forces had justifiably put up their case strongly. But when it came to GREF, there were double standards. Their request to have one of its officials to represent their point of view was conveniently overlooked.
There are other issues like Separated Family Accommodation (SFA) and allowances. Army officers posted in remote and tough conditions are given SFAs along with various allowances, but GREF officers in similar situations have to make do with their own arrangements. Experts say there have to be ways and means to evolve a mechanism so that there is a sense of parity in the difficult job at hand. For instance, the high mortality rate of the BRO personnel is a clear indication of the hazards they face. (See box)
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