Capital Budget Of Border Roads Organisation Increased By 43 Per Cent To Rs 5,000 Crore; Allocation Doubled In Two Years

The Narendra Modi government has increased the capital budget of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) by 43 per cent to Rs 5,000 crore in the 2023-24 budget as against Rs 3,500 crore in 2022-23. 

The agency, which is responsible for the development and maintenance of roads and other critical infrastructure in border areas of India, has sen its capital budget rise sharply over the last few years.

According to the Ministry of Defence (MoD), the capital budget of the BRO has been doubled in two years since FY 2021-22.

In the 2021-22 budget, the government has increased the capital outlay for the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) by 40 per cent to Rs 3,500 crore.

This unprecedented increase in the BRO's capital budget comes amid tensions between India and China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

The two countries have been locked in a tense military stand-off along the LAC in eastern Ladakh since April 2020. Recently, tensions have flared up in Arunachal Pradesh, where the troops from the two sides clashed in December last year over the control of a tactically important peak.

The government is "committed towards infrastructure strengthening in the Border Areas, particularly the northern borders," the MoD said in a statement after the budget announcement earlier today.

Over the last few years, the BRO has significantly increased the pace of the construction of roads in border areas. Major reforms, including the transfer of control of the organisation to the Defence Ministry, have helped the BRO improve the pace of the construction of border roads.

Also Read: In 2020, Work On Border Roads Moved Faster Than Before, Despite Chinese Aggression In Ladakh, And Covid-19