New Delhi, November 2
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has proposed setting up of 600-odd more border outposts for more effective monitoring and management of land and coastal borders.

A Cabinet note in this regard has already been prepared and sent to the Cabinet Secretariat by the MHA, a top Home Ministry official told The Tribune here today.

At present, there are a little over 2000 border outposts and the addition of 600 more would cut the distance between one outpost and another from the present 5 km to 3 to 3.5 km, he said.

The move is in line with the recommendations made by the Group of Ministers (GoM) set up post-Kargil to review the national security system in its entirety.

The GoM had made several recommendations relating to effective management and surveillance of illegal cross border activities, deployment and restructuring of the Border Guarding Forces, all round development of border areas, issues relating to illegal migration and subversive activities in the border areas, etc.

India has 15,106.7 km of land border and a coastline of 7,516.6 km, including island territories. The length of our land borders with neighbouring countries is: Bangladesh (4,096.7 km), China (3,488 km), Pakistan (3,323 km), Nepal (1,751 km), Myanmar (1,643 km), Bhutan (699 km) and Afghanistan (106 km).

The government has already decided to provide floodlighting all along the Indo-Bangladesh border fence. A stretch of 277 km is already floodlit as part of a pilot project.