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Close on the heels of the Joshimath crisis, the Centre has issued a standard operating procedure asking agencies to mandatorily implement environmental safeguards in all roads and highway projects falling within 100 kilometres of the International Border or the Line of Control. The standard operating procedure (SOP) issued by the Union Environment ministry on February 6 stresses on mandatory disaster management plans, risk assessment and eco-fragility studies and precautions during tunnelling. The guidelines come seven months after the ministry waived the requirement for environmental clearance for highway projects up to 100 kilometres of the International Border (IB) or the Line of Control (LoC). "The guidelines are to be followed for all roads/highway projects falling within 100 km from the International Border/Line of Control for sustainable environmental safeguards. "Further, the exemption of prior EC (environmental clearance) for all highway projects up to 100 km from the LoC
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday asserted that India has every capability to thwart challenges along the border to protect the country's territory. Singh also said India never encourages war, and always wants to maintain cordial relations with its neighbours. However, the Indian Army has the capability to face any challenge along the border, and is ready to deal with any situation, he said during the inauguration of a Border Roads Organisation (BRO) bridge here. India is a country which never encourages war and always wants to maintain cordial relations with its neighbours.. This is our philosophy inherited from Lord Rama and from the teachings of Lord Buddha. The country has every capability to face any kind of situation if provoked, Singh said. Indian and Chinese troops had clashed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh on December 9, and the face-off resulted in "minor injuries to a few personnel from both sides", the Army had .
Two armed Pakistani intruders were shot dead by the Border Security Force (BSF) in two separate incidents along the India-Pakistan international border in Punjab on Tuesday morning, officials said. The first infiltration bid was detected in the Gurdaspur sector around 8 am and the troops subsequently recovered the body of a man along with a weapon there. "At about 0830 hours, BSF troops of border post Channa in Gurdaspur sector observed suspected movement of an armed Pak intruder ahead of the fence. "The suspected intruder was challenged and neutralised by the troops," a BSF spokesperson said. The second killing took place near Dariya Mansoor village in Amritsar. "Troops challenged the miscreant, but he did not stop and continued moving ahead. Sensing an imminent threat and to stop further misadventure, BSF troops fired upon the miscreant in self-defence, killing him on the spot. "A gun was found near the body of the Pakistani miscreant and an extensive search of the area is in .