Border Roads Organisation (BRO) to focus on development of ‘Strategic Roads’

In a bid to reduce the workload of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), several road projects that were formerly entrusted with the organisation have been taken back by the government. This will enable the BRO to focus primarily on the development and maintenance of ‘strategic roads’ that would serve border areas. BRO incidentally, is an organisation that has been formed to develop connectivity for the armed forces.

BRO to offload 2,940 km of road projects:

The BRO has struggled to develop roads and highways in its portfolio, with many projects being stalled for years. Taking this into consideration, the government decided to offload some of the projects which are not of strategic importance so as to reduce the burden on the organisation.Based on a mutual agreement between the Highways ministry and the BRO, 2,940 km of road projects from the portfolio of the BRO were identified to be transfered to the state Public Work Departments (PWDs) and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

Defense ministry approves move:

This move was approved by the defense ministry. These include road projects in states like Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Tripura, Sikkim, Nagaland and Uttarakhand. From the 2,940 km of roads that was proposed to be transfered, BRO has indicated that it would retain 715 km for operational necessity.

Roads along difficult terrain retained with BRO:

Considering that most of the roads that are entrusted with the BRO are in areas where the terrain is difficult, it requires special skill and technology to develop roads in these areas. This would not be practically possible for state PWDs due to the dearth of technical-know how for developing roads in such areas. For instance, in Uttarakhand, high altitude highways are being planned so that they would not be affected by floods. Besides, the NHAI cannot be expected to develop roads in such areas as they are already stretched with many pending projects.

Govt proposes new wing under highways ministry:

Meanwhile, the government is also considering to set up a new wing under the Highways ministry. This wing will be entirely involved in the development of national highways of strategic importance so as to improve connectivity with neighbouring countries, and is expected to be set up in the next 5-6 months. It is expected that more roads would be taken from the BRO stable and handed over to the new wing.

Conversion of 7,000 km of state roads into highways proposed:

The Highways ministry will make a proposal to the Cabinet in December, 2013, making a proposal for the conversion of 7,000 km of state roads into highways. This includes 2,000 km of border roads as well as 5,000 km of state roads which have been specifically identified. This will enable connecting district headquarters with national grids. Roads like the Manali-Leh highway which was formerly under the BRO and is yet to be adequately developed will be converted according to this proposal.