India-China Border Roads

India-China Border Roads (ICBR) project is a Government of India project which aims to develop the infrastructure along the Sino-Indian border by constructing "strategic roads". Several entities are responsible for constructing ICBR, including Border Roads Organisation (BRO) which handles the bulk of the ICBR road construction work, NHAI, MoDNER, Central Public Works Department (CPWD), National Projects Construction Corporation (NPCC), PWDs of respective states and others. China in comparison, has significantly upgraded infrastructure in the Tibetan Autonomous Region with five airbases, an extensive rail network and more than 58,000 km of roads.
The BRO is responsible for constructing 105 border roads, including 73 ICBR roads in Phase-1 to be completed by December 2020 and 32 ICBR roads in Phase-2. The BRO is responsible for the road network, of which 67% are assigned to ICBR roads. Out of 73 ICBRs in Phase-1, less than 50% were complete by 2018, subsequently with additional funds the speed of construction increased. Some of the important projects include the already completed Darbuk-Shayok-Daulat Beg Oldie (DS-DBO) road and also the Atal Tunnel (Rhotang tunnel); and in the northeast the under construction Sela Tunnel and an under construction tunnel under the Brahmaputra river with Indian Railways.
History.
Strategic infastructure requirements.
In the wake of heightened road and track construction work undertaken by China along India's Northern & Eastern Frontiers, India constituted a China Study Group (CSG) in 1997, to study the requirement of road communication, along the China border for brisk movement of troops in the event of armed conflict. At the end of the study, the CSG identified a network of 73 roads, called the India-China Border Roads (ICBR), to be developed along the Indo-China border. The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) in 1999 approved the construction of these roads by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) under the Ministry of Defence. The project was to be completed by 2006 but the deadline was then extended to 2012. The Standing Committee on Defence, a body for legislative oversight, appraised strategic road connectivity in 2018. With regard to the slow pace of construction of border roads, the Border Roads Organisation stated to the committee:
Reasons such as climate, geography, land acquisition and natural disasters also accounted for the delays. In 2013 the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government took multiple administrative decisions to speed up construction. The 2017 Doklam standoff further raised the profile of the issue with the Modi government for border infrastructure along the China border.
Requirement for strategic roads.
Ministry of Defence submitted a total operational requirement of 852 roads of length 30118 km to the BRO. Out of this, border roads have been classified under the Long Term Roll on Works Plan (LTRoWP); that is 530 roads spanning 22803 km including 73 ICBRs. The work structure for the ICBRs is divided among different agencies. Out of the 73 ICBRs, BRO was responsible for 61 roads while the remaining to other departments such as the National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC), Central Public Works Department (CPWD), National Projects Construction Corporation (NPCC) and state public works departments. ICBRs are present in Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. Arunachal Pradesh has the most proposed ICBRs numbering 27.
Funds were also diverted from "General Staff (GS) roads" to ICBRs.
ICBR project phases.
Phase-1/ICBR I.
As of January 2020, the present revised target completion date for Phase-I is December 2020. Of the 73 ICBR in Phase-1, 61 roads assigned to BRO and remaining 12 to CPWD. 
ICBR progress:
Some of the important projects include the Darbuk-Shayok-Daulat Beg Oldie (DS-DBO) road and Rohtang tunnel in the Ladakh; and in the northeast the Sela Tunnel and a road and rail tunnel under the Brahmaputra river with Indian Railways.
Phase-2/ICBR II.
Phase 2 aims to construct 32 roads along the border. In June 2020, amid the India-China skirmishes, the government asked all bodies to speed up the construction of the roads. Additional labour was also sent to these areas to assist in speeding up construction.
List of ICBRs.
Incomplete list of ICBRs as follows:
Related geo-strategic projects.
Border airport and ALG projects.
 
The People's Liberation Army's Western Theater Command is responsible for the defense of China along the whole line of actual control with India. The Indian Armed Forces has divided the LAC into 3 sectors - the "western sector" across Ladakh and the Chinese-controlled Aksai Chin, the "central sector" across Himachal Pradesh and Uttrakhand, and the "eastern sector" across Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. Similarly, the Indian Airforce has the Prayagraj-based Western Air Command, Delhi-based Central Air Command, and Shillong-based Eastern Air Command to cover the LAC.
Border railway projects.
India's Ministry of Defence (MoD) has identified at least 15 new geostrategic rail lines to be constructed near the China, Pakistan and Nepal borders for troop deployments. In comparison, China has built lines up to Shigatse in Tibet, with plans to connect it to Nepal and further to India. After these lines were proposed by the ministry of defense in 2013, the Government of India approved the initial surveys of all 14 lines in 2014, Some of these as well as other related projects are as follows:
Border tunnel projects.
As of June 2020, ICBRs included a total of 26 road tunnels, of which 7 were complete and 19 road tunnels were under planning stage. As of November 2017, BRO was constructing 17 road tunnels of a total length of 100 km, on some of the 73 strategic roads on Sino-Indian border to provide the year-round all-weather rail and road surface connectivity. Some of these tunnels have dual road and rail usage. Presently, road access to high altitude posts on Sino-India border is closed for six months every year due to snowfall and rain, and supplies are through airlift only. These tunnels will reduce the travel time and operational costs, and eliminate the risk of avalanche and landslide. Some of these tunnels are under construction while others are still in planning stage. A list of tunnels, from west to east along the Indo-Chinese border, is as follows:
Sea ports and waterways projects.
Sagarmala port development project and Waterways projects will also enhance geostrategic capabilities along LAC and elsewhere. Following waterway projects in Assam on Brahmaputra River and its tributaries are of geostrategic importance for the movement of military assets:
See also.
India-China border infrastructure