The Parliament’s Standing Committee also observed deficiencies in equipment holding by the BRO vis-à-vis its requirement
Vijay Mohan Tribune News Service
Even as the Central Government has been giving an impetus to develop infrastructure and connectivity in remote areas in view of the threat perception, the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is facing equipment deficiencies and lower budgetary allocations than the financial projections.
Over the past five financial years, allocations under revised estimates (RE) have been consistently less than the projections, according to a report presented by Parliament’s Standing Committee on Defence this month.
Functioning under the administrative control of the Ministry of Defence, BRO is mandated with the construction and maintenance of roads, bridges and tunnels connecting remote and inhospitable areas along the border to facilitate troop movement and logistics, which also benefit the civil populace residing in these regions.
Though the budget for BRO has shown an increase in absolute terms over the past five years, barring the 2021-22 fiscal possibly due post pandemic situation, there have been instances during this period of the actual expenditure exceeding the revised allocations.
According to official figures, the revised projections for 2019-20 and 2020-21 were Rs 6.373 crore and Rs 7,515 crore, respectively, which fell to Rs 4,509.5 crore in 2021-22. This shot up to Rs 9,602 crore in 2022-23 and Rs 12,544 crore in 2023-24.
The commensurate allocations for these years, on the other hand, were Rs 5,688.91 crore, Rs 6,935.25 crore, Rs 3,932.42 crore, Rs 9,369.50 crore and Rs 12,042.00 crore.
In the current 2024-25 fiscal, the budgetary projection and allocation is Rs 14,074 crore and Rs 12,107.41 crore, respectively, while the revised projection is Rs 12,157.41 crore. The revised allocation will be finalised later.
The committee also observed deficiencies in equipment holding by the BRO vis-à-vis its requirement. The list included hydraulic excavators, tippers, excavators-cum-loaders, wheel loaders, hot mix plants, stone crushers, load carriers and concrete mixers.
The equipment varies from year to year, depending upon allocated target and the task at hand. In the 2024-25 the deficiency ranged up to 36 per cent, with the shortfall being the highest for concrete mixers and tippers. Deficiency is met by hiring equipment or outsourcing work to contractors.
Established in 1960, BRO has its footprints in all the border states of India across diverse terrains such as mountains, deserts, plains and forests, besides having a presence in neighboring countries such as Afghanistan, Bhutan, Myanmar, Tajikistan and Sri Lanka.
The BRO has constructed over 62,000 km of roads, 915 permanent bridges, four tunnels and 19 airfields under adverse climatic and geographical conditions. At present, it has 10 major projects having strategic implications underway in Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.