Pune: BRO Works On Constructing 12 Tunnels, Upgrading Airfields To Boost Connectivity In Border Areas; Roads Cause Reverse Migration In Villages

Mubarak Ansari

Pune, 6th May 2023: The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is celebrating its 64th Raising Day in Pune, Maharashtra, where it is organizing its Annual Chief Engineers and Equipment Management Conference. The conference has brought together the Chief Engineers of 18 BRO Projects from border states and Union Territories, along with senior officers from Seema Sadak Bhawan, New Delhi.

The conference was presided over by Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry, VSM, DGBR. He highlighted that the BRO’s budget has increased by 100% from 2500 crore to 5000 crore. The expenditure has increased from 6000 crore to 13000 crore in the last financial year and is expected to increase to 15000 crore this year. The BRO has completed many strategic projects for our security forces, as the situation along our Northern Borders remains grim.
The BRO has connected many villages to the mainstream by constructing roads. Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry emphasized that “Road is the backbone of development.” Once a road is constructed, the balance development, including electricity, communication, schools, hospitals, and other facilities, follows. The BRO has dedicated 205 projects amounting to Rs 5000 crore in the last two years alone.

As part of the conference, a total of 69 industries are participating and showcasing their equipment. The BRO is using a plethora of advance technologies to reduce the challenges it faces due to difficult terrain, which has also resulted in reducing costs and time. The event is a great initiative by the industry to provide solutions to the BRO’s peculiar problems.

The GeM (Government e-Marketplace) silver certificate for order value and GeM Gold certificate for timely payment were also highlighted by Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry. The BRO got a chance to showcase the importance of GeM in an anti-corruption conference at the G20 summit.

The Expedition Ekta Evan Shradhanjali Abhiyan, which started on May 3, is also finishing soon. The expedition team is carrying 108 samples of water, soil, and saplings from various parts of the border areas where BRO is employed. The Raksha Rajya Mantri would be gracing the occasion on the last day of the conference tomorrow.

He will be unveiling ‘Vision 47’ document, which states where the BRO will be in the next 25 years. A Bailey Bridge on Shyok will also receive a certificate of the world record for being the highest Bailey Bridge in the world. The BRO is constructing 12 tunnels, and work on the Shinku La tunnel will start soon. The BRO is working on Bagdogra and Barrackpore airfields, and the Nyoma airfield will also start soon.

The BRO’s work on constructing roads has caused reverse migration in villages located on borders. Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry appreciated the BRO’s efforts in connecting these villages to the mainstream, which has brought development to these areas.

IMPORTANT ACHIEVEMENTS OF BRO IN THE LAST TWO YEARS

Accelerated Pace of Work:

  Dedication of 102 Infra Projects comprising 87 Bridges and 15 Roads to the Nation in 2021. 

 Dedication of 103 Infra Projects comprising 67 Bridges, 30 Roads, 02 Helipads, 01 Carbon Neutral Habitats and 03 Misc projects to the Nation in 2022. 

 Construction of World’s Highest Motorable Road and Oxygen Café over Umling la Pass at 19024 ft, recognised by Guinness Book of World Records & World Book of Records, London respectively. 

 Completion of 500 m long Nechiphu Tunnel on Balipara-CharduarTawang road in Arunachal Pradesh. 

 Construction of the Sela Tunnel on Balipara-Charduar-Tawang road in Arunachal Pradesh being completed shortly. 

 Approval of construction of 4.1 Km long Shinku La Tunnel on Nimu-Padam-Darcha road in Himachal Pradesh. 

 Runway reconstruction and upgradation works at Barrackpore and Bagdogra completed. 

 Allotment of work for development of Airfield at Nyoma, Ladakh. 

 Construction of Double Lane, Class-70 Indigenous Modular Bridge on Flag Hill- Dokala Road in Sikkim at an altitude of 11000 ft. 

 Connectivity of southernmost Panchayat of India, Laxmi Nagar in Great Nicobar Island by establishing crossing over Galatheya River & Indira Point to Shastri Nagar. 

 Transfer of Tracks Leading to Shri Amarnathji Holi Cave to BRO. 

 Alternate Connectivity to Sub Sector North in Ladakh. 

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi stayed at BRO’s detachment at Mana in Uttarakhand, boosting the morale of all the BRO Karmyogis and also laid the Foundation Stone for widening of two important roads of worth Rs 997 Cr in Uttarakhand to be executed by BRO. 

 Prime Minister commended the BRO’s work on HapoliSarli-Huri road for blacktopping for the first time since independence. 

 Increased pace of construction of roads in BRO with an average of 856 Kms of roads being constructed every year over the last seven years as compared to just 632 Kms over the seven years prior to that. 

 Surge in the construction of bridges in BRO with an average of 3020 m of bridges being constructed every year over the last seven years as compared to just 1224 m over the seven years prior to that. 

 Enhanced focus on construction of tunnels with 12 tunnels presently under construction and eight tunnels under planning as compared to only four tunnels till 2020. 

 Extended opening of the crucial Zojila axis till 06 Jan 2023 & opened for traffic on 16 Mar 2023 in just 68 days. 

 Razdan pass in Gurez Valley also opened in just 58 days. 

 Manali-Sarchu axis opened in a record time on 25 Mar 2023, almost two months in advance. 

 Opening of 16 passes much ahead of previous years in record time, thus saving enormous funds in terms of air sustenance of cut off areas apart from immense economic and strategic advantages. 

 BRO is one of the first Govt organisations to have successfully downgraded all 1136 vehicles as per new criterion and uploaded their documents for scrapping on the MSTC portal. 

 LTRoWP 2023-28 for Rs 94739 Cr processed. 

 AWP 2023-24 for Rs 14022 Cr processed. 

 693 DPRs for Deptl Exec sanctioned in FY 2022-23 for Rs 22755 Cr in the last two years. 

 1355 Sick Jobs completed and closed in last two years. 

 48 DPRs sanctioned through EPC Mode since last two years for Rs 16698 Cr for a total length of 1067 Km. 

 10 No EPC Rd Works completed for a total length of 156.80 Km for Rs 1270.27 Cr. 

Budget Expenditure:

 The budget expenditure of BRO reached a record high as Rs 12340 Cr in FY 2022-23, which used to be in the range of Rs 4500 Cr four to five years back, a three folds increase. 

 100 % jump in the funds allocated to the BRO under GS Capital Head, which now stands at Rs 5000 Cr against Rs 2500 Cr two years back. 

Major Initiatives:

 MoU with ISRO for establishment of SATCOM Telemedicine Nodes in BRO. 

 MoU with Green Bhutan Corporation Ltd to employ environment friendly techniques for landslide mitigation on Damchu-Chukha road in Bhutan. 

 MoU with all major OEMs to supply spares for repair & maintenance of V/E/Ps to ensure uninterrupted pace of work on ground. 

 MoU with iDEX for identifying innovative solutions to our unique problems. 

 Mechanised Maintenance Team to ensure providing pothole free roads to commuters. 

 Road Safety Audit and Correction works for reduction of Black Spots. Over 16000 Km of Roads have been audited so far and also audit of 608 bridges of the BRO has been completed for the first time. 

Digital Initiatives:

 BRO developed ten major software and one website. 

 Software on RMS, eMB & WMS. 

 Digitisation of land and roads held with BRO. 

GeM:

 In FY 2022-23, BRO awarded both the “Gold Certification for Timely Payment” and “Silver Certification for Order Value” with total order value of Rs 1853 Cr under the Central Govt category. 

 DGBR shared BRO’s experience on GeM at the Anti-Corruption Working Group (ACWG) meeting of the G20 Nations at Gurugram as the only representative of the Armed Forces. 

New Technologies:

 Use of Geosynthetics for slope stabilisation. 

 Modular Steel Bridges instead of RCC Bridges. 

 Micropiling for Bridges. 

 Steel Slag instead of conventional Aggregates. 

 Cut & Fit Technology. 

 Snow Erdox. 

 Cementitious Base for Road construction. 

 Plastic Coated aggregates. 

 Non Frost Sub Base. 

 White Topping technology for Road construction. 

 Use of Steel Slag in Roads. 

 Carbon Neutral Habitats. 

 3D Printed Buildings. 

 Induction of New Generation Equipment in BRO. 

 Induction of New products in BRO such as Polybag Bitumen, CRMB-55, Warm Mix Additives, Ready Mix pothole repair Bituminous patch, XtraGreen Diesel, Smart Life Poles etc. 

Adventure & Cohesiveness: 

 India@75 Motor Cycle Expedition, in which 75 Riders from the BRO covered 21000 km over 75 Days. 

 Cycle Expedition (4222 km) in May 2021. 

 Motor Cycle expedition (6557 km) in May 2021. 

 BRO@63 Multi-Dimensional Expedition as part of 63rd Raising Day celebrations conducted from Apr to May 2022. 

 BRO@63 All Women Electric Vehicle Rally conducted as part of 63rd Raising Day on 07 May 2022. 

Ekta Evam Shradhanjali Abhiyan: A Motorcycle Expedition as part of multi modal adventure cum awareness expedition. 

 Children Awareness Programme – 75 No. 

 Road Safety Seminars – 75 No. 

 Medical Camps – 75 No. 

Women Empowerment:

 Women given Comd assignments- Cdr BRTF & OCs RCC. 

 Creation of All Women Road Construction Company, first time in history. 

Welfare Schemes: 

 Across all the Projects of BRO, Porta-cabins installed and Prefabricated shelters and Bio toilets procured to improve the living conditions of CPLs.  Providing Special Winter Clothing & Rations provided to CPLs deployed in High Altitude Areas. 

 Augmentation of Health Care Facilities. 

 Training of BRO Personnel in Emergency Medical Management. 

 Make shift Schools for children of CPLs. 

 Sanction of pension through online mode using ‘SPARSH’. 

Rescue Operations:

 Contribution of BRO in various rescue operations in Avalanche, Landslides and Natural Disaster prone Border Areas. 

Mission Mode for Recruitment

 Issue of 3196 Appointment letters under Mission Mode for Recruitment.

Awards:

 BRO conferred with GeoSmart Infrastructure Excellence Award by Geospatial World for excellence in tunnel projects. 

 Road over Umling La awarded PMA National Project Leader Award 2022 on 22 Aug 2022 by Project Management Associates. 

 753 BRTF under Project Himank was awarded the prestigious CIDC Vishwakarma Achievement Award on 08 Apr 2022 for Best Construction Project for constructing World’s highest road over Umlingla. 

 Benadi Bridge of 30.2 m span and Pakka- Kotha Bridge of 181.2 m span on Dyalchak- Ramkot road in UT of J&K awarded “The Best Construction Projects” under the Road, Highway & Bridges category in the 14th CIDC Vishwakarma Award 2023. 

Atal Tunnel has received the following awards in the last two years:- 

 12th CIDC Vishwakarma Award on 02 Mar 2021. 

 Certified by World Book of Records London as the ‘World’s Longest Highway Tunnel above 10,000 Feet’ on 09 February 2022. 

 IBC Best Infrastructure Project Award on 28 Apr 2022. 

 TAI Tunnelling Project of the Year Award on 27 Jun 2022. 

 FIDIC’s Highly Commended award in the Transportation (Tunnels) category on 12 Sep 2022. 

 ACECC Civil Engineering Project Award on 22 Sep 2022.

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