New Delhi, April 1

India today operationalised its strategic ITBP command in Jammu and Kashmir’s Leh-Ladakh district after moving it from Chandigarh. The move forms part of a plan to counter ever-increasing Chinese military build-up in the region.

The North West (NW) frontier of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), tasked to guard the 3,488-km Sino-India border during peace time, is headed by an Inspector General (IG) of Police-rank officer, which is equivalent to a Major General in the Army. “We are operational from the Ladakh region beginning April 1 and the force headquarters in Delhi has been informed,” ITBP IG Arvind Kumar told PTI from Leh.

The Tricolour and the force flag were unfurled to herald the new move. The frontier would be operating from the existing premises of the ITBP sector headquarters, another official said.

Sanctions have been received to create more buildings and logistics for the new command and Director General (DG) SS Deswal, the force chief, is expected to visit the formation soon. It was reported in January that the frontier had been ordered to move from its base at Chandigarh “lock, stock, and barrel” to be operationalised at the new location from April 1. The distance between Chandigarh and Leh is 960 km.

Leh district in the mountains of Jammu and Kashmir is the base for the 14 Corps of the Army headed by a Lt General-rank officer and the new shift will allow a better interaction between the two forces “for strategic and defence planning”, the official operations blueprint had said.

The Army, which carved out a separate Corps in Leh following the Kargil intrusion in 1999, has been demanding operational control over the ITBP, a proposal rejected by the government time and again. Having the ITBP and the Army at the same combat location would resolve these issues as well, sources had said. “We have to be on the border and that is why the frontier is being sent to the forward area,” DG Deswal had earlier said.

The Home Ministry had first mooted this proposal in 2015, but it did not materialise due to some “administrative reasons”. The new ITBP frontier would have command of about 12 battalions deployed along the Chinese border, sources said. — PTI

Moved from UT to Leh-Ladakh

• The strategic ITBP command was operationalised in J&K’s Leh-Ladakh district after moving it from Chandigarh on Monday
• The frontier would have command of about 12 battalions deployed along the Chinese border that runs along Jammu and Kashmir