China's hyperactive infrastructure building on their side of the border has forced India to take corrective steps on its own hills.

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China's hyperactive infrastructure building on their side of the border has forced India to take corrective steps on its own hills.

For example, Arunachal Pradesh, the largest among the eight Northeastern states, and a state that borders Bhutan (160 km), China (1,080 km) and Myanmar (440 km), has less than 15 km of railway lines till date.

So, it's not surprising that three out of four proposed rail projects, which are likely to be funded by the ministry of defence, will be rolled out in the strategically located Arunachal Pradesh.

One of those lines, the 378 km-long Misamari (Assam)-Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh) one, for example, will be a key line strategically, as it would cater to the mobility of the armed forces stationed at a base near Misamari (near Tezpur, Assam) that's headed by a lieutenant general, an officer just one rank below the Army General.

Rare Alliance 

Rare Alliance

This may be one of the very few times that the defence ministry is set to join hands with the Railways to lay tracks.

The last time this happened was for the Sakri-Nirmali rail line, a Rs 350-crore project in Bihar that provides an alternative route to Northeast India; the project was partly funded by the ministry of defence during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government. 

The project included construction of a rail-cumroad bridge on the Kosi river at Nirmali, connecting Darbhanga in Bihar with New Jalpaiguri, a gateway to Assam and the Northeast. No deadline has been set as yet for the current projects.

The preliminary surveys have been undertaken and are under examination, according to railway officials looking into this matter. 

"The projects are at an advanced stage, and work will formally start once an MoU is signed between the defence ministry and the railways", says one of the officials.

Defence ministry and Railways will Work Together in Northeast: Suresh Prabhu

Suresh Prabhu, minister of railways, sheds light on the projects in the Northeast. Edited excerpts:

On rail connectivity to the Northeast

Our idea is to bring in total rail connectivity to the state capitals of the Northeast. We have progressed well in that direction. And for the first time we had an emotional connectivity and not just physical connectivity with the Northeast when we held the Railway Week there (in Guwahati in April). The Railway Week was never organised in that region before. Imagine, it has been happening for the last 70 years, but has never been held in the Northeast. 

On working together with the defence ministry

The defence ministry and we have been thinking about working together to bring in even better (rail) connectivity to the Northeast. I will give details at an appropriate time. We (Railways) are already near Itanagar (the capital city of Arunachal Pradesh). We will definitely do work on our own as well as work with the ministry of defence to build a railway network in the region. 

On his visits to the Northeast

(As railway minister) I have travelled to a number of places in the region. Recently, I went to Arunachal Pradesh, up to Tawang (bordering China).

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Source : The Economic Times.