The Hindu : National : Centre to fund Rs. 853-crore Integrated Check Posts project

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Friday, Dec 28, 2007
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Centre to fund Rs. 853-crore Integrated Check Posts project

Vinay Kumar

Centre decided to fund the entire cost taking security aspects into consideration
RITES, a PSU, entrusted with the responsibility of implementing the project

NEW DELHI: The Centre has decided to fund the entire Rs. 853-crore project upgradation of 13 Land Customs Stations (LCS) into Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) along India’s border with Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Nepal.

The decision was taken at an inter-ministerial meeting chaired on Monday by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and attended by Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh.

The project had been approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) in November last but the government had to decide on the route of funding it as the Home Ministry had wanted to opt for the public-private-partnership (PPP) route. However, taking security aspects and sensitiveness of the project into consideration, it was decided that the Central government would fund the entire cost of the project, to be implemented by the public sector undertaking,

RITES. The Government also considered the fact that private sector had never operated an ICP on the international border and entrusted RITES with the responsibility. The project, aimed at facilitating border trade by offering better and more facilities at an ICP for traders and businessmen, would take nearly three years for completion. Of the 13 ICPs, Wagah in Punjab along the Indo-Pakistan border and Raxaul in Bihar along the Indo-Nepal border would be taken up for implementation. The Home Ministry decided to take up Petrapole in the North 24 Parganas district on the Indo-Bangladesh border once the land acquisition issues were resolved while Moreh in Manipur was being put on hold for the time being, official sources said.

Other ICPs are located at Hili and Chndrabangha in West Bengal along the Indo-Bangladesh border, Sutarkhandi in Assam, Dawki in Meghalaya, Akhaura in Tripura and Kawarpuchiah in Mizoram, all along the Indo-Bangladesh border; three ICPs are located along Indo-Nepal border in Jogbani in Bihar and Sunauli and Rupaidiha in Uttar Pradesh.

The meeting decided that the External Affairs Ministry would take up the issue of LSCs with respective countries through bilateral negotiations.

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