India to start work on mega projects bordering China at..., Modi govt approves 30 projects, Siachen Glacier to...
New Delhi: The government has approved many important defense projects for the border with China. These projects are spread from East Ladakh to Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. These include infrastructure for forward aviation bases, construction of facilities for missiles and important road links on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and other strategic points. These projects have been approved by the Standing Committee (SC-NBWL) of the National Board for Wildlife. Why is SC-NBWL's approval needed?
This meeting was held on 26 June and where SC-NBWL evaluated more than 30 defense and infrastructure related projects and approved all of them. Of these, 26 projects are in Ladakh. The meeting was chaired by Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav. Wildlife Board approval is necessary for these projects because these projects are in protected areas like Karakoram Wildlife Sanctuary and Changthang Cold Desert Sanctuary (Ladakh), Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary (Arunachal Pradesh) and Pangolakha Sanctuary (Sikkim). Which other projects are approved by SC-NBWL?
The SC-NBWL has also approved the work of Arunachal Frontier Highway near the Myanmar border. The most important project was the road between Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) to Border Personnel Meeting (BPM) hut. The 10.26 km long road is to be built at the place where senior army officers of India and China meet to discuss border related issues. This area is at an altitude of 17 thousand feet above sea level and also has the highest airstrip.
The Defence Ministry had told SC-NBWL that there is no road between these two while on the other side China is building a solid road. Which animals are living in the sanctuary?
Karakoram Sanctuary is home to Tibetan deer, shapo, wild yak, bharal, snow leopard, Himalayan grey wolf, lynx and marmot. Dibang Sanctuary is home to leopard and tiger while Asiatic black bear lives in Pangolakha Sanctuary in Sikkim along with other animals. Houses for soldiers of Artillery Regiment
Apart from this, the other important projects that have been approved include housing for the personnel of the Artillery Regiment, a field hospital, construction of aviation infrastructure for the Forward Aviation Base in Shyok and construction of technical infrastructure to detect equipment of short-range surface-to-air missiles, etc. Apart from this, approval has also been given for the Siachen region. The Defense Ministry said that the Partapur project will be important for flight activities in the Siachen Glacier.
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