'India Will Leave China Behind On Border Infrastructure In Three Years If...': Here's What BRO Chief Affirms

Amidst the ongoing border tensions between India and China, India is intensifying its security measures and rapidly improving its infrastructure along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

The pace of developments suggests that India will outpace China in the next three years.

"We would be not only able to match capabilities of China but would march ahead if the pace of development continues," stated Lieutenant General Rajeev Chaudhry, Director General of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), in an interview with NDTV.

In the last 30 months, the BRO has operationalised a remarkable 300 projects. General Chaudhry elaborated, "Every third day we are completing a project. And almost 70 per cent of our projects are along LAC i.e Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh."

He acknowledged the current lag behind China in terms of infrastructure but highlighted that China's development journey began in the 1960s.

"We do lag behind China as of now but we have to remember that their development journey began in 1960s. They have been continuous in their expansion and development as far as roads and railways are concerned. But we are also moving ahead with electric pace," he said.

He compared the approaches of previous governments, stating, "Previous governments were conservative in their approach, fearing that roads built along the China border could be used against India. However, the current government is more aggressive, enabling us to meet our targets."

In the current year, BRO has successfully completed 90 projects, including 24 strategic roads, two airfields, and 61 bridges. Another 60 projects are estimated to be completed by December.

However, there remains a significant gap to bridge, as China continues to strengthen its military positions along the frontier, enhancing bunkers, underground shelters, artillery positions, radar sites, and last mile connectivity through roads, bridges, tunnels, and helipads.

China has also upgraded its airbases facing India.

With work beginning at Nyoma, the dynamics may change in the coming years. General Chaudhry affirmed, "We have started work and in next two working seasons we would be able to operationalise highest fighter airfield, as by 2025 work would be completed."