NEW DELHI, May 19: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has taken a decision in favour of shorter 4.5km tunnel proposal of Border Roads Organisation but the order could not be issued as all the top officials involved in the project were hit by Coronavirus.
Cutting through the red-tape, the Defence Ministry has decided to ask the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) to build a 4.25-kilometre tunnel under the 5,091-metre-high Shinkun La Pass to make an all-weather axis from Manali to Leh via Darcha-Padun-Nimmu alignment to supply Indian Army formations in Ladakh sector. The snow-free axis is expected to be completed by 2024.
“Both BRO and NHIDCL made presentations before the minister in March 2021. After studying both the proposals, the defence ministry has decided in favour of shorter tunnel. The decision could not be put on the paper as a number of senior officials involved in this project were hit by COVID-19 infection,” said a top official.
The NHIDCL has been preparing detailed project report of the project since 2017, much before the Chinese army transgressed into Ladakh in May 2020.
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