Army chief seeks speedy implementation of road projects along

Army chief Gen Bikram Singh today met Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and requested speedy implementation of road projects in areas along the China border including northeast.
During the 40-minute-long meeting, the Army chief discussed the speedy implementation of road projects in areas such as Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir and northeastern states with the Union Minister, Army sources said here.
As part of efforts to match infrastructure build up by the Chinese forces along the borders in the northern and northeastern states, the government has approved several projects to help in improving mobility of the armed forces in these areas.

The projects approved by the government include the construction of 73 strategic roads to be built in these areas but these have been delayed due to several reasons like lack of green clearances and difficulty in sending machinery to far flung areas.
The raising of a new Mountain Strike Corps along the China border has also been facing difficulty due to delays in the construction of these roads.
However, the new government has taken several steps to fast track these projects and has given a waiver to defence projects including road construction work in the border areas.