At a time when Indian troops are still in a faceoff with the Chinese along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh, an infrastructure project for troops guarding the region has turned out to be a non-starter after five years of work and investment of crores of rupees.
And the failure of the project has also pitted two key ministries of the government — Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Jal Shakti — against each other.
The project involved construction of over 40 integrated Border Outposts (BOPs) announced by the government in 2015. These BOPs were supposed to be the first of their kind in the region with freeze-proof toilets, running water and temperature maintained above 22 degree Celsius at all times.
The project was seen as a significant step in improving border infrastructure for troops on the frontline at a time when infrastructure on the Chinese side was seen to be years ahead of India.
The first BOP, as a pilot for the project, was sanctioned to be built for the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) in Lukung, on the western bank of Pangong Tso. The lake area saw serious confrontation between Indian and Chinese troops for nine months before disengagement was achieved in February this year.
The project was awarded to National Projects Construction Corporation (NPCC), a PSU under the Ministry of Jal Shakti. Five years later, and after spending about Rs 20 crore, the project has, for all practical purposes, been declared a failure by the ITBP.
Sources in…