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Building roads along international borders to be simplified now

Following a request from the Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), the environment ministry has issued an order to all the state governments to this effect on April 19, which was reviewed by DNA.

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The Environment Ministry will now extend a general approval for diverting forest land to build infrastructure along the international borders and the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL). The general approval will be applicable for road constructions and other infrastructure work within 100 km of LAC, 15 km of Indo-Nepal border, 16 km of Indo-Myanmar border and 5 km from all other international borders.

Following a request from the Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), the environment ministry has issued an order to all the state governments to this effect on April 19, which was reviewed by DNA.

The MoRTH secretary said that the NHIDCL was also involved in the construction of roads in the border districts along the international borders and the LAC as entrusted by the Defence Ministry and Home Ministry. Accordingly, the dispensation have been granted to the paramilitary organizations like Border Roads Organisation (BRO), Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Border Security Force and Sashastra Seema Bal.

The road ministry fully owns NHIDCL and the order comes in the backdrop of Centre's decision to transfer over 2,500 km of road works earlier with the Border Roads Organisation to the NHIDCL.

These projects are spread across Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Manipur and Uttarakhand. According to the government, data presented in the recently concluded budget session shows that the BRO has constructed a total length of 1960.84 km roads along India's international borders during the last three years and 73 roads have been identified as strategic Indo-China Border Roads.

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