Green clearance for 38 outposts in Arunachal, Ladakh along China border

Thirty-four border outposts in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh along the Sino-India border have received a crucial go-ahead from an environmental panel. These include some in areas that recently saw border hostilities between Indian and Chinese troops.

The approvals - paving the way for scaling up strategic border infrastructure - have come amid reports of repeated incursion by Chinese soldiers in border areas.

Several of the 24 border outposts of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), which were cleared at the September 24 meeting of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL), are in areas that saw Indian troops clash with soldiers of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) last summer.


For the construction of 24 border outposts at Chushul, Hot Springs, Chumar, Dungti, Dhan Singh, PP 16, Silung La, Hanley, Lukung, Bao Nallah and more - termed in government documents as 'important from the national security point of view'- 65 hectares of forest land will be diverted from the Changthang wildlife sanctuary.

Permissions have also been sought and given for construction of the Marshimikla-Kiu La road and the Mahay-Debring road in the vicinity -- projects that were sent for clearance in January this year.

Many of the projects were, however, awaiting clearance since March 2020. Ladakh's Lieutenant-Governor RK Mathur had also recently taken up the matter of expediting wildlife clearances for border projects. The clearances come barely a month after the NBWL cleared the way for a dozen crucial roads in the same area, including the alternative linkages to Daulat Beg Oldie.

Similarly, NBWL has now cleared the way for another nine border outposts in Arunachal Pradesh, off Dibang wildlife sanctuary.

Some of these outposts will come up at Kapuda, Tapola, Kangri, Balchida, Phuphu, Lama, Amaha near the sanctuary area, around 4-11 kilometres from the international border.

The NBWL has also accorded wildlife clearance to the Nechipu Tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh to connect the already existing B.C.T (Balipara-Charidwar-Tawang) road.

The tunnel is expected to help the Indian army bypass regions with dense fog near the border.