The Union home ministry has said that construction of fencing, watchtowers and border outposts on the Indo-Bangla border has been delayed due to land acquisition problems and public protests in West Bengal, Meghalaya and Mizoram.
“The government is, however, regularly monitoring the progress of border infrastructure works for early completion,” officials in the home ministry said.
The home ministry has adopted a multi-pronged approach which includes the construction of the fence, round-the-clock surveillance and patrolling on the borders and establishment of observation post, construction of border floodlighting among others.
Arunachal Pradesh received Rs 277.16 crore for border area development from 2017-2020, Assam received Rs 168.8 crore and Meghalaya received Rs 104.64 crore.
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On the other hand, Tripura received Rs 159.41 crore, Sikkim received Rs 108.51 crore, Mizoram received Rs 134.13 crore, Manipur received Rs 62.83 crore and Nagaland received Rs 98.84 crore for border area development from 2017-2020.
“Introduction of modern and hi-tech surveillance equipment, up-gradation of intelligence setup and enhanced coordination with the state governments and concerned intelligence agencies are being adopted to prevent illegal infiltration,” the officials said.
The Border Area Development Programme (BADP) is implemented as a core centrally sponsored scheme to provide essential infrastructure facilities, improved connectivity and sustainable livelihood opportunities to the people living in remote and inaccessible areas situated near the international boundary.
Presently, this programme covers 16 States and 2 UTs having international land borders.
