Border infrastructure in the borderlands of India and China encompasses irrigation, roads, railways, airports, natural gas and oil pipelines, electricity grids, telecommunications, and broadcasting. In the context of the border tensions between India and China, many of these infrastructure projects in the borderlands are considered strategic in nature. Commentators have noted the infrastructure gap that existed, and still exists, between the infrastructure on the borderlands of India and China.[1] For many decades, the approach taken to the construction of border infrastructure by China and India was significantly different,[2] however, in terms of utilizing the natural resources of the borderlands for the needs of the country, both countries are said to have a similar approach.[3]
China
China has developed a number of "xiaokang" or "model well-off border defence villages".[4] The number of villages reportedly– range from 624,[4][5] and 680,[6][7] to 965.[5] Some of the new Chinese border villages (with claimed location) are as follows:
India
India has two non-overlapping distinct schemes, the Vibrant Village Program (VVP) specifically for the Indian villages on border with China and the Border Area Development Programme (BADP) for Indian villages on border with all the neighboring countries including China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan, etc.[14]
Vibrant Village Program
Vibrant Village Program (VVP) phase-1 has ₹4,800 crore (US$600 million), including ₹2,500 crore (US$310 million) for the roads alone, centrally sponsored scheme budget for the fy2022-23 to fy2025-26 3 year period to comprehensively develop 662 villages with a population of 142,000 on India-China border in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh and the Union Territory of Ladakh. Eventually the scheme will cover all 2,967 villages in 46 blocks of 19 border districts for the comprehensive development in the subsequent phases. The district administrator will prepare the district and village level plans with the help of grampanchayats (elected Village council) in a "hub & spokes" based growth centers model by identifying natural & human resources to develop tourism & eco-agriculture, comprehensive infrastructure including electricity, communications, healthcare, roads, startups, social enterprises, youth and woman entered empowerment, etc to stop the outward migration. NGOs, self help groups (SHG) and cooperatives will also be included.[14]
To boost the astrotourism in India, the government is setting up observatories at Jadhang and some other places under this program.[15]
Border Area Development Programme
The Border Area Development Programme (BADP) was initiated in the 1980s along the western border with Pakistan. By June 2020, the scheme covered nearly 400 blocks in 111 border districts in 18 states and union territories.[16] This scheme extends to development projects within 10 km of the border.[note 1] Projects can include roads, bridges, health facilities, primary schools, irrigation, and sports facilities.[16] In 2019–20, the scheme was allotted ₹825 crore (equivalent to ₹971 crore or US$120 million in 2023), while in 2020-21 it was allotted ₹784 crore (equivalent to ₹923 crore or US$120 million in 2023).[16]
In 1997, BADP started in Arunachal Pradesh. It first applied to the Indo-Myanmar Border and in 1998 was extended to the Indo-China and Indo-Bhutan borders.[18] Even after ten years, BADP was unable to provide development to the over 1500 villages in the border blocks of Arunachal Pradesh; "the border blocks are yet to be opened up and are in utter backwardness due to their isolation and inaccessibility".[18] A NITI Aayog evaluation study for the period 2007-2011 and published in 2015 found that while the heads of Gram Panchayats (GPs) gave positive feedback related to BADP, and while people have benefitted in some ways, the requirement of border villages in Arunachal Pradesh were so great that they couldn't be met by BADP in one go:[19]
...of the 21 GPs surveyed, only six were connected by all-weather roads; electricity was available in only seven of them; tap water was available only in five; none of the GPs surveyed had fixed line telephones. Only two of the 21 GPs had PDS shops; some villages were almost 25 km away from these shops. Several villages did not even have primary schools and anganwadi centres.
Border telephony and internet
Under the 4G Saturation project, the BSNL will set up 20,000 4G towers in 30,000 border villages at the cost of ₹26,000 crore rupees from the Universal Service Obligation Fund. As of May 2023 the project was already underway and it will be completed in 15 months by 31 July 2024. Today, India has about 640,000 villages, of which 575,000 have been covered by mobile telephony and data connectivity, leaving a gap of 65,000 villages without connectivity, of these 40,000 villages are being covered under the border village plan. Under the 4G saturation plan, the government wants to connect 100% villages with 4G services by 2024.[20]
Arunachal border villages
| District | Block | No of Villages | Pop (2001 census) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tawang | Tawang | 37 | 12949 |
| Kitpi | 47 | 4853 | |
| West Kameng | Nafra | 29 | 13644 |
| East Kameng | Bameng | 69 | 9244 |
| Chayngtajo | 68 | 10881 | |
| Kurung Kumey | Huri-Damin | 32 | 2957 |
| Pipsorang | 32 | 2206 | |
| Sarli | 36 | 1951 | |
| Koloriang | 52 | 4798 | |
| Parsi-Parlo | 43 | 3226 | |
| Upper Subansiri | Nacho | 65 | 5249 |
| Siyum | 48 | 4080 | |
| West Siang | Mechuka | 45 | 6244 |
| Monigong | 34 | 3025 | |
| Kaying-Payum | 25 | 5543 | |
| Upper Siang | Tuting | 16 | 5874 |
| Singa-Gelling | 18 | 1692 | |
| Lower Dibang Valley | Hunli | 41 | 3114 |
| Dibang Valley | Anini-Mipi | 38 | 4344 |
| Etalin-Maliney | 28 | 1575 | |
| Aneli-Arzoo | 34 | 1353 | |
| Anjaw | Chaglagam | 42 | 2412 |
| Hayuliang | 92 | 10262 | |
| Total | 962 | 121476 |
See also
References
- Notes
- Citations
- ↑ Kurian 2014, p. Closing the Infrastructure Gap.
- ↑ Rajagopalan & Prakash 2013, p. 13.
- ↑ Mukherjee 2019, Chapter 6.
- 1 2 Ranade, Jayadeva (12 February 2022). "China digging in for long haul in Ladakh". Rediff. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
- 1 2 Panag, Lt Gen (Retd) H S (2021-11-11). "China's Land Border Law is more sinister than it lets on. India needs a course correction". ThePrint. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
- ↑ "Come clean on Arunachal situation". Deccan Herald. 2021-11-15. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
- ↑ "680 thriving Chinese villages along Indian borders cause of concern, says expert". Tribune India. 26 September 2021. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
- ↑ Som, Vishnu (18 January 2021). "Exclusive: China Has Built Village In Arunachal, Show Satellite Images". NDTV.com. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
- ↑ Som, Vishnu (18 November 2021). "Second China-Constructed Enclave In Arunachal, Show New Satellite Images". NDTV.com. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
- ↑ Som, Vishnu (20 November 2020). "China Sets Up Village Within Bhutan, 9 Km From Doklam Face-Off Site". NDTV.com. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
- ↑ Griffiths, James; Suri, Manveena (25 November 2020). "Satellite images appear to show China developing area along disputed border with India and Bhutan". CNN. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
- ↑ Pundir, Pallavi (11 December 2020). "Latest Satellite Images Show New Village Very Close to Indian Borders". Vice. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
- ↑ Gupta, Shishir (2020-11-20). "Spotlight on Ladakh, China secretly made moves in central, Sikkim and eastern sectors". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
- 1 2 Amit Shah launches Vibrant Villages Programme in Arunachal: What is this scheme, Indian Express, 14vApr 2023.
- ↑ India’s new tourism boom is in the sky. Uttarakhand to Andamans, stargazing on the rise, The Print, 5 June 2023.
- 1 2 3 Singh, Vijaita (2020-06-03). "India to boost infrastructure in areas along China border". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2021-01-19.
- ↑ NITI Aayog 2015, p. 5.
- 1 2 3 Border Area Development Programme in Arunachal Pradesh. Status on October 2009. Department of Planning, Government of Arunachal Pradesh. Retrieved on 19 January 2021.
- ↑ NITI Aayog 2015, p. 42.
- ↑ BSNL goes to borders to set up 20,000 4G towers., LiveMint, 2 June 2023.
- Sources
- Kurian, Nimmi (2014). India-China Borderlands: Conversations beyond the Centre. SAGE Publishing India. ISBN 9789351504320.
- Mukherjee, Kunal (2019). Conflict in India and China's Contested Borderlands: A Comparative Study. Routledge. ISBN 9780429677625.
- Rajagopalan, Rajeswari Pillai; Prakash, Rahul (May 2013). Sino-Indian Border Infrastructure: An Update (PDF) (Report). Observer Research Foundation. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- NITI Aayog (June 2015). Evaluation Study on Border Area Development Programme (BADP) (PDF) (Report). NITI Aayog, Programme Evaluation Organisation, Government of India.
Further reading
- Ling, L.H.M.; Lama, Mahendra P; Abdenur, Adriana Erthal; Banerjee, Payal (2016). India China: Rethinking Borders and Security. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 9780472130061.
- Aiyadurai, Ambika; Lee, Claire Seungeun (2017). "Living on the Sino-Indian Border: The Story of the Mishmis in Arunachal Pradesh, Northeast India". Asian Ethnology. 76 (2): 367–395. JSTOR 90017668 – via JSTOR.
- Suryanarayana, Pisupati Sadasiva (2021). Elusive Tipping Point, The: China-india Ties For A New Order. World Scientific. ISBN 978-981-12-2583-3.
- Grieger, Gisela (December 2021). "Towards a joint Western alternative to the Belt and Road Initiative?" (PDF). December 2021. European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS). European Parliament.
- Ramachandran, Sudha (13 September 2016). "China and India's Border Infrastructure Race". Jamestown. China Brief Volume: 16 Issue: 14.
- Lidarev, Ivan (21 December 2015). "New Tensions, Old Problems on the Sino-Indian Border". Jamestown. China Brief Volume: 15 Issue: 24.
- Das, Pushpita (2008). "Management of India-China Border Area: A Case Study of Arunachal Pradesh". Indian Foreign Affairs Journal. 3 (3): 92–105. ISSN 0973-3248. JSTOR 45340743.
