Govt to construct 44 'strategically important' roads along India-China border

Agencies
January 13, 2019

New Delhi, Jan 13: The government will construct 44 strategic roads along the border with China and over 2100 km of axial and lateral roads in Punjab and Rajasthan, abutting Pakistan, a CPWD document shows

According to an annual report (2018-19) prepared, and released earlier this month by the Central Public Works Department, the agency has been asked to construct 44 "strategically important" roads along the India-China border to ensure quick mobilisation of troops in case of a conflict

The nearly 4000-km-long Line of Actual Control between India and China touches areas from Jammu and Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh 

The report comes at a time China is giving a priority to projects along its India borders. Last year, Indian and Chinese troops engaged in a face-off at the Doklam tri-junction after the neighbouring country had begun building road in the area.? 

The standoff ended on August 28 following a mutual agreement under which China stopped the construction of the road and India withdrew its troops

The report stated that these 44 strategically road along the India-China border will be constructed at a cost of nearly Rs 21,000 crore

"The CPWD has been entrusted with construction of 44 strategically important roads along the Indo-China Border spanning 5 states of J&K, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh," the report stated

"The total Cost of work as per DPRs (Detailed Project Reports) is Rs 21,040 crores (approx.)," the report stated 

It said the process of approval of DPRs by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is underway

The CPWD report also stated that lateral and axial roads measuring over 2,100 kilometers will be built with a cost of around Rs 5,400 crore in Rajasthan and Punjab along the Indo-Pakistan border

The DPRs for this project are under preparation in CPWD, which is a major construction agency of the central government

"A total of 945 km of lateral roads and 533 km of axial roads lie in Rajasthan (tentative cost Rs 3,700 crores) and 482 km of lateral roads and 219 km of axial roads in Punjab (tentative cost Rs 1,750? crores)," it stated

The road projects will secure the vast and remote border areas of Rajasthan and Punjab, it stated

India's border with Pakistan runs through four states, Jammu and Kashmir (1,225 km, which includes 740 km of Line of Control), Rajasthan (1,037 km), Punjab (553 km) and Gujarat (508 km).

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Agencies
June 18,2020

New Delhi, Jun 18: Vodafone Idea on Thursday told the Supreme Court that it has incurred Rs 1 lakh crore losses as it insisted it is not in a position to furnish bank guarantees.

A bench comprising Justices Arun Mishra, S. Abdul Nazeer, and M.R. Shah, taking up the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) matter through video conferencing, directed the telecom companies to submit their financial documents and books for the last 10 years.

Asking Vodafone if it was a foreign company, the bench said that how can the company say it would not furnish any bank guarantee.

"What if you fly away overnight in future without paying anything?" it asked.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Vodafone Idea, denied his client is a completely foreign firm and cited before the bench its tie-ups and investments.

Vodafone owes over Rs 58,000 crore as AGR dues and so far, has paid close to Rs 7,000 crore.

Rohatgi contended before the court that the telecom company is in a tough situation, and cannot furnish any fresh bank guarantee, as profits have eluded the company in past many quarters. He submitted before the bench that Rs 15,000 crore bank guarantees are lying with the government, and his client's losses are over Rs 1 lakh crore.

"I cannot offer any more surety," he informed the bench.

Justice Mishra noted that this is public money and these dues should be recovered. "Do not tell us that you will pay if you were to make profits... the money must come," he noted.

Justice Shah observed that the telecom industry is the only industry which earned during the Covid-19 pandemic. "After all, this money will be used for public welfare", he said.

Rohatgi argued that his client would have to fold up if orders were issued to clear dues tomorrow. "11,000 employees will have to go without notice, as we cannot pay them," he added.

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Bharti Airtel, contended before the court that out of Rs 21,000 crore AGR dues, the company has already deposited a sum of Rs 18,000 crore.

He argued that his client has given a bank guarantee, in excess of demand, to DoT, and supported the proposal for phased repayment of remaining AGR dues. He insisted that the company needs to sit down with the government and calculate the dues. Airtel owes Rs 25,976 crore after paying Rs 18,000 crore, as per the government.

Senior advocate Arvind Datar, representing Tata Telecom, informed the bench that his client has paid Rs 6,504 crore in AGR dues so far, and furnishing a bank guarantee may adversely impact investments in the sector.

The total AGR dues are close to Rs 1.5 lakh crore.

The top court will now take up the matter in the third week of July.

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News Network
May 28,2020

New Delhi, May 28: BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra has been admitted to a private hospital in Gurgaon after he showed symptoms of COVID-19, sources said.

He is admitted to the Medanta hospital in Gurgaon, hospital sources said on Thursday.

The BJP leader has shown symptoms of COVID-19, a source said.

Patra is one of the most visible BJP faces on news channels.

He is also very active on social media and posted several tweets on Thursday as well.

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News Network
January 13,2020

New Delhi, Jan 13: Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, has fired around 50 of its India executives as part of its restructuring in the country, three sources with direct knowledge said.

The move underscores the struggles Walmart has faced in expanding its wholesale business in India. The Bentonville, Arkansas based company currently operates 28 wholesale stores where it sells goods to small shopkeepers, and not to retail consumers.

The firings mostly affected executives in the company’s real estate division because the growth in the wholesale model has not been that robust, two of the sources said.

“It’s happening because focus is shifting to e-commerce rather than physical (stores),” said one source, who declined to be identified as the decision is not public.

Walmart did not respond to a request for comment.

Walmart has placed bold bets on India’s e-commerce sector. In 2018, it paid $16 billion to acquire a majority stake in India’s online marketplace Flipkart, in its biggest global acquisition.

The second source added that while Walmart could slow down the pace of opening new wholesale stores, the focus will increasingly be on boosting sales through business-to-business and retail e-commerce.

Some of the executives were sacked last week and more could be let go on Monday, two sources said.

In a statement to India’s Economic Times newspaper, which first reported the news, Walmart said it was always looking for ways to operate more effectively and that “this requires us to review our corporate structure to ensure that we are organized in the right way to best meet the needs of our members.”

Walmart has around 600 staff in its India head office out of a total of around 5,300 nationally, one of the sources said.

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