New Delhi, July 9

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday inaugurated six bridges in border areas of Jammu and Kashmir, and asserted that development of remote areas in the region will continue to be a key priority for the NDA government.

The defence minister dedicated the bridges through video conferencing in presence of Chief of the Army Staff Gen MM Naravane, Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar, Director General of Border Roads Organisation Lt Gen Harpal Singh among others.

Four bridges were constructed on the Akhnoor-Pallanwala road in Akhnoor, while two bridges were built on the Tarnah Nallah in Kathua district, the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

The total cost of construction of the bridges was Rs 43 crore.

The inauguration of the bridges, built by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) comes at a time when India and China are engaged in a border row in eastern Ladakh.

Officials said the dedication of the bridges to the people of Jammu and Kashmir carries a bigger message that India will continue to develop key infrastructure in border areas notwithstanding hostilities by any adversary.

“Our government is committed to promoting infrastructure on our borders and necessary resources will be provided for this. Our government has a keen interest in the development of Jammu and Kashmir,” Singh said in his brief address.

“Keeping in mind the needs of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and Armed Forces, many other development works are also in the pipeline, which will be announced in due time. About 1,000 kilometre long roads are currently under construction in Jammu region,” he said.

Dedicated to the nation six bridges constructed by BRO in J&K via video conferencing facility today. These bridges will facilitate movement of the Armed Forces in these strategically important sectors and also contribute towards the overall economic growth of remote border areas.

The defence minister said the government has ensured that sufficient resources are provided to the BRO for the construction of strategic roads.

Despite the COVID-19 epidemic, the government will not let the resources of the BRO fall short, he added.

According to the ministry, the annual budget of the BRO ranged from Rs 3,300 crores to Rs 4,600 crores during 2008 to 2016. However, the allocation was hiked to Rs 8,050 crore in 2019-2020.

The budget for the BRO for 2020-2021 is likely to be Rs 11,800 crore, the ministry said, adding the higher allocation will expedite the construction of strategic roads, bridges and tunnels along our northern borders.

In his remarks, Singh congratulated the BRO for construction of the bridges in “record time”.

He said that roads and bridges are the lifeline of any nation and play a vital role in the socio-economic development of far-flung regions.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is regularly monitoring the progress of these projects and adequate funds are being provided for their timely execution, he added. —PTI

Manoj Joshi

Distinguished Fellow, Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi

PM Modi has been to Ladakh, where he visited injured troops and addressed jawans. His style was somewhat theatrical, but he has raised the morale of the forces and the country. The tough talk was, no doubt, aimed at the domestic constituency; the Chinese go by deeds rather than words and so we are still left with the problem of a restoration of status quo ante as of May 4.

Reports now suggest that both sides have begun pulling back 1.5 km each in Galwan and Hot Springs/Gogra area; Pangong Tso remains a problem area. This is for the good, but can only be seen as a first step to fix the problem permanently, as was the stated intention of the 1993, 1996 and 2005 agreements.

The responsibility to set the situation right rests with Beijing because it is the party that has violated the long-standing agreements to maintain peace along the LAC. But equally, it is in our own interest to terminate this crisis which is exacting a huge price in terms of resources and effort, at a time when we are fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.

The choices before us are stark. It was the Galwan incursion that was the serious one because of its proximity to a key highway of ours. But there seems to be no agreement yet on two other important areas, in Depsang and Pangong Tso. And beyond disengagement there as well is the task of persuading China to permanently settle the differences over the LAC. In other words, delimit a line acceptable to both sides in detailed maps. Since this task has yet to be accomplished, we should continue to pursue a mix of policies using military, diplomatic or economic tools to push the Chinese to act on the issue.

Though we have built up a force of nearly four divisions in the area, well balanced with armour, artillery and air assets, we cannot contemplate a military riposte casually. Any action must factor in the possibility of a larger India-China conflict if we act to vacate the encroachments in the Ladakh region.

Making emergency acquisition of military material, as we have done, is not a good sign. For four successive years, the Services have received substantially lesser money than they asked for their modernisation. Some shortages have been set right through emergency acquisitions in 2017 and 2018, but there are others built into the system.

What has encouraged the Chinese is the growing gap between the capabilities of the PLA and the Indian military arising from the resource crunch we are suffering from. This is not something that has happened overnight, but has emerged over two decades.

Now, an additional burden will be imposed by the logistics of dealing with three additional divisions in Ladakh. Stocking for one division there is a trying task, but doing it for four will be very arduous and expensive. But a credible military posture will have its own payoff, provided we are clear-headed about the goal, which is not to fight a war, but by our deterrence capacity, force China to back off.

In this endeavour, economic policy is a force multiplier. The government has sent a tough signal by banning 59 Chinese apps, but they generate small profits for their parent companies. What will matter, is trade and investment. Total trade tops $90 billion, most of it in Chinese goods destined for the Indian market. Official figures put Chinese investment at $2 billion, the actual sum is likely to be several times that. We may be small-time players when it comes to trade with China, but the threat of tariffs on Chinese goods and restrictions on investment has a certain value, given the pushback China is facing on this account in the US and Europe. The steps we take must be carefully calculated and not impose greater costs on us, than on China. But even so, they should signal our serious intent to do whatever we can to influence Chinese behaviour.

The importance of a permanent fix to the LAC problem should not be underrated. We need to convince China that its policy of using the undelimited LAC as a means of pressuring India will now yield diminishing returns. For years, Modi has been trying to convince the Chinese of this point, because an unclear LAC has led to crises in 2013, 2014, 2019 and now in 2020, where it has led to a serious clash in which lives have been lost.

Disengagement by itself will not be enough, we need to ensure that the incursions are put to an end permanently, and this can happen if we clarify where the LAC runs, something both countries had signed on to do but have not done because of Chinese mendacity.

Ensuring peace and stability at the LAC has never been as important as it is today. The war against the pandemic has hit us hard, indeed, we do not even now know just how things will pan out since the infection is yet to peak in the country. Recovery will take years, and India will need more trade, more investments, lesser restrictions and a peaceful and stable periphery. In dealing with the crisis in Ladakh, we should not miss the wood for the trees.

Maj Gen Ashok K Mehta (retd)

Military commentator

In a letter to Nagaland CM Neiphiu Rio on June 16, the government interlocutor with Naga entities and Governor RN Ravi virtually accused both the state government and the predominant Naga armed group NSCN-IM (National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak-Muivah) of undermining law and order and state legitimacy without naming any Naga group. He charged the armed gangs with running a parallel government and extorting taxes.

On June 27, the Isak-Muivah (IM) faction replied that the legitimate taxes it levies were not extortion as these sustain the Naga political movement and were not objected to by the earlier interlocutors. Rio said the law and order was much better than the pre-ceasefire period. Ravi has directed that all postings of law and order officials will require the approval of the Governor. This is the first time that such a step has been taken in the state. Mainstreaming Naga armed groups has been a challenge for New Delhi since Independence.

Last year, Ravi failed to secure a PM Modi-set deadline of October 31 for consummating a full and final settlement with the IM within the framework of the Constitution following the government’s success in J&K, nullifying Article 370. Modi was to have signed the follow-up to the 2015 Naga Framework Accord in Kohima on December 11 with Muivah.

Ravi told a newspaper on October 18 that the Naga peace process would be concluded by October 31 without a separate flag and the Constitution sought by the IM. The others were told that the Naga accord would be signed with or without the IM, hinting towards the more amenable group of seven Naga parties he began engaging in 2017. This Ravi-nursed NNPG did sign the accord, postponing the issue of flag and Constitution for later. But the Nagaland Framework Accord was between the IM and the Government of India and not with the NNPG.

A positive closure of the Naga peace process would have ended the mother of all insurgencies in India and the world’s longest-running demand for secession, facilitating the ending of residual insurgencies in Manipur and other armed movements scattered across the North-East and, most importantly, giving a fillip to India’s Act East Policy.

The most striking event of the Naga peace process occurred when Ravi inaugurated this January 17, the fifth session of the 13th Nagaland Legislative Assembly. According to the Nagaland Today, Ravi stated in the Assembly that negotiations between the Government of India and Naga political groups were successfully concluded. He referred to a meeting with the Joint Legislative Forum on Naga political issues held on November 13 which he said would facilitate a final solution to the prolonged Naga issue which is honourable, acceptable and recognises the uniqueness of the history of the Naga people. He asked the neighbouring states to help as the Naga peace process had reached a critical juncture.

In the discussion on the Governor’s address, the East Mojo Times of February 8 reported that Opposition lawmakers, Imkong Limshen and Vikheho Swu, questioned the veracity of the remarks of the Governor, his claiming that talks were successfully concluded but also saying that we are at a critical juncture while also asking the Nagas to unite or ‘miss golden opportunity’.

Swu said the Centre should not use the excuse of getting a favourable response from the neighbouring states in resolving the issues. The Governor in his reference to ‘successfully concluded negotiations’ with Naga political groups was correct, as he had signed an agreement with the NNPG on November 17, 2017. He excluded any mention of the IM with whom he reportedly signed an agreement on October 31 to sign a final peace deal later, keeping the dialogue process alive.

In the House, the Governor reassured the Nagas, who fear a J&K being done to them, that Nagaland enjoys Article 371A which protects identity and the customary law of the Nagas and the inner line provision of the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulations of 1873 as both disallow Citizenship (Amendment) Act Bill or CAB 2019 in the state. Despite this, the Opposition in the Nagaland Assembly insisted that an anti-CAA resolution be passed in the House, like in West Bengal and Kerala. The Naga Opposition is worried about an influx of illegal immigrants because Assam, the gateway to the North-East, had not been entirely exempted from the purview of the law, making Nagaland susceptible to illegal immigration.

On February 28 this year, according to the South Asia Terrorism Portal, Ravi said in an interview that “delay in concluding talks is entirely on the part of IM which seems not prepared for a settlement and is using delaying tactics by giving new mischievous interpretations on the already agreed provisions of contentious issues.” The pan-Naga entity was mutually agreed to be a cultural body with no political role or executive authority. After the October 31 deadline, they want a pan-Naga body to have political and executive influence over the Nagaland government, precisely the reference he made in his June 16 letter.

Ravi will have to think out of the box to get the 86-year-old Thuingaleng Muivah to accept a solution within the framework of the Constitution of India. In his recent TV interviews to East Mojo and News Live, Muivah says the Nagas will not budge from their own flag and Constitution. Using the NIA or other coercive measures against an old warhorse and his group will not work.

While the IM has 7,000 armed fighters with a long legacy of insurgency pre-dating Independence, Kashmir has just 240 militants. Muivah’s Tangkhul Nagas are warning: Do not create another Kashmir, it will hurt your Act East Policy. Given the situation along the LoC and LAC, opening a third front against the world’s oldest insurgency will be harakiri.

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, July 11

Two militants were killed along the LoC in Nowgam sector of Kupwara district on Saturday, the Army said.

The Army said suspicious movement was detected by troops in the Nowgam sector in the morning. “Security forces swiftly launched an ambush, resulting in the elimination of two militants. Two AK-47 rifles and ammunition were seized,” the Army said in a statement.

Also read: 300 terrorists waiting to infiltrate into India: Army

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 5

A new dimension has been added to locust control activities with helicopters spraying chemicals in targeted areas of Rajasthan. While a Bell helicopter, deployed in Scheduled Desert Area, operated in Jaisalmer district, the Indian Air Force (IAF) also joined the anti-locust operations today.

The versatile Mi-17 helicopter was used for spraying in Jodhpur district, making it the first-of-its-kind activity in the history of locust control in India, according to the Agriculture Ministry.

Swarms of locusts are active in Jaisalmer, Barmer, Bikaner, Jodhpur, Nagaur, Dausa and Bharatpur of Rajasthan, and Jhansi and Mahoba districts of Uttar Pradesh, it said.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s locust status update on July 3, many of the spring-bred swarms that migrated to the Pakistan border before the monsoon, some continued east to northern states of India and a few groups also reached Nepal. The forecast is that they will return to Rajasthan to join the swarms still arriving from Iran and Pakistan and expected to be supplemented by those from the Horn of Africa about mid-July.

According to officials, despite the locust outbreak in past few days “no significant crop losses have been reported in Gujarat, UP, MP, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Haryana. However, some minor crop losses have been reported in some districts of Rajasthan”.

Presently, 60 control teams with spray vehicles are deployed in Rajasthan, Gujarat, MP and UP. Five companies with 12 drones are deployed at Barmer, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Nagaur and Phalodi in Rajasthan for control on tall trees and in inaccessible areas.

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 10

The Supreme Court on Friday allowed service of summonses and notices through WhatsApp and telegram along with email and fax in legal proceedings.

However, it clarified that all methods were to be used to prove a valid service of summonses and notices to a party.

This is the first time the Supreme Court had permitted service of summonses and notices in court proceedings through WhatsApp and telegram which instantaneously deliver contents to the recipients.

“Two blue ticks would convey that the receiver has seen the notice,” it noted.

The top court also permitted RBI to extend the validity of cheques in view of COVID-19 lockdown.

It will be the discretion of the RBI to issue suitable orders, altering the validity period of a cheque, it said.

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 10

The process of disengaging the militaries of India and China from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) entered the fifth day on Friday. Progress has been made at three points while partial progress has been made at the north bank of Pangong Tso, a 135-km glacial lake.

The Indian Army will depute middle-level officers for the physical verification of the first step of the three-stage process to disengage and de-escalate. As decided, a 3-km buffer zone between the two armies has been created at the Galwan valley, that is Patrolling Point (PP)-14, said sources. The creation of buffer zones at PP-15 (south-east of Galwan valley) and PP-17A (Gogra) has been in line with the agreement arrived at successive meetings of Lt General-rank officers in June.

At Pangong Tso, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has pulled back its boats that were stationed in the lake, just east of Finger-4. The PLA troops on the ridgeline of Finger-4, however, haven’t budged. Sources said the first stage of disengagement had decided on a graded withdrawal and PLA troops were expected to vacate the ridgeline. India claims the LAC till Finger-8, which is some 6-8 km east of Finger-4.

Eight mountainous spurs of the Chang Chenmo range end at the north bank of the Pangong lake. Each spur or ridgeline is identified as “finger” in military parlance and each ridgeline is separated by 2-5 km. The disengagement of troops had kicked off on Monday.

Rajnath reviews LAC situation

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday carried out a comprehensive review of the situation in eastern Ladakh. The meet was attended by the Chief of Defence Staff and three service chiefs. The minister was also apprised of the readiness of the Army in Arunachal and Sikkim.

Disputed Finger 4-8 to come up in talks

The next round of meetings by Lt Gen-rank commanders will finalise modalities for deinduction of troops and equipment by both sides along the LAC.

The issue of Indian troops patrolling the disputed areas between Finger-4 and Finger-8 will be taken up.