Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, June 29: As there was no let up in incursions by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in Leh district of Ladakh region, the Government of India has decided to give a boost to the Mountain Strike Corps, which it planned to set up to deal exclusively with China in Ladakh and North East areas, bordering China.
The Government has decided to direct Environment and other concerned Ministries to give immediate clearance to constructions of roads all along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), which falls along the borders with China apart from expediting work on Zojila tunnel to make Srinagar-Leh National Highway an all weather road and hold fresh survey on Srinagar-Kargil-Leh railway line, official sources told the Excelsior.
“The Government would continue to pursue peace talks with China, which have gained momentum with the visit of China’s Vice President to India recently but at the same time it didn’t want itself found wanting in the wake of frequent Chinese incursions in Ladakh and North Eastern frontiers of India,” they said, adding that the Government has asked the Army to take all possible measure to set up the Mountain Strike Corps by 2020 though its deadline had earlier been fixed at 2021.
The Strike Corps to be headquartered at Panagarh in West Bengal would be a strong 50,000 men unit coming up at a cost of about Rs 64,000 crores in the next six to seven years. The Government has assured adequate funding for the Corps.
The new formation would be called 17 Corps but it would be the 14th Corps in the Army. It will be only the fourth Strike Corps and the only one facing China as the rest — 1 Corps based in Mathura, 2 Corps at Ambala and 21 Corps at Bhopal — are meant to deal with Pakistan in case of any eventuality.
The 17th Corps’ forces would be spread across Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and other Eastern and North-Eastern States. It would have two divisions with headquarters in Bihar and Assam. Worthwhile to mention here that the Army had mooted the idea of new Strike Corps to meet the threat of China after frequent incursions by the PLA during past couple of years and taking into account the possibility of a simultaneous two-front war with Pakistan and China.
The Mountain Strike Corps was finally conceived last year.
Sources said the Union Government has also directed the Environment Ministry to ensure environment clearance for construction of approach roads to Strike Corps formations and along the LAC on emergency basis to boost presence of the troops and meet the threat of PLA incursions.
Apart from construction of roads, the Government has also decided to expedite work on Zojila tunnel, which would make Srinagar-Kargil-Leh National Highway an all weather road, thus, giving troops added advantage. Simultaneously, the Government has decided to conduct fresh survey on Srinagar-Kargil-Leh railway line as China was also planning railway lines in most of the areas bordering with India.
The raising of the Mountain Strike Corps will augment infrastructure of the Army along borders with China. Already, six new C-130J aircraft, to be based at Panagarh, will augment tactical airlift requirements for the Strike Corps.
After making incursion bids in Ladakh through land route, Chinese troops have made several attempts to enter Indian waters at Pangong lake nestled in the higher reaches of Ladakh with the latest incident reported on Friday.
The Army had a face-off with the PLA as recent as June 27 in the lake when their troops tried to enter the Indian waters.
The incursions have taken place in Eastern Ladakh and on the northern bank of Pangong lake. The Chinese patrols used to come frequently from the northern and southern banks of this lake, whose 45 km stretch is on the Indian side while another 90 km is on the Chinese side.
However, every attempt was foiled by the Army which has been equipped with new boats.
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