To Check Chinese On Border, Centre Approves 7 ITBP Battalions

The government approved the hiring of 9,400 new troops on Wednesday to form seven new border battalions, as well as a new operational base for the India-China LAC guarding force, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).

The proposal was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), which was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur during a post-cabinet press briefing.

The ITBP, which has approximately 90,000 personnel, was formed in the aftermath of the 1962 Chinese aggression and is tasked with guarding the 3,488-kilometre-long Line of Actual Control (LAC) on India's eastern flank. The force is collaborating with the Army on this front, even as the militaries of India and China prepare to engage in a standoff in Ladakh beginning in 2020.

According to the government's approval, the additional personnel will be used to staff 47 new border posts as well as a dozen "staging camps" or troops bases that will be established along the border, primarily in Arunachal Pradesh. These bases will be operational in 2020.

These new bases were sanctioned to ensure effective guarding of the LAC, and now seven battalions and a new sector headquarter consisting of approximately 9,400 personnel have been sanctioned, according to a senior officer.

It is expected that the battalions and sector headquarters to be operational by 2025-26.

Union Minister Anurag Thakur stated that a non-recurring expenditure of Rs 1,808.15 crore is expected to be spent on land acquisition, the construction of office and residential buildings and the purchase of arms and ammunition, while a recurring annual expenditure of Rs 963.68 crore will be spent on salaries and rations for new employees.

According to officials, the establishment of 47 new border posts will result in a 26 per cent increase in the strength of these bases, while the addition of 9,400 new personnel will increase its strength by 10 per cent. Currently, the force has 176 border posts at the LAC.