The ongoing construction work on the eight key roads in Uttarakhand and Sikkim along the country’s border with China has been beset by a major delay. According to the Union Ministry of Defence (MoD) officials, the projects -- five in Uttarakhand and three in Sikkim -- located along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) have been undertaken by the Central Public Works Department.
For long, the country’s defence planners had harboured the view that the region’s rugged terrain could itself deter any possible misadventures by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and hence the need to develop the infrastructure was simply overlooked.