China has a strong economic and strategic need in the Ladakh sector, which is why it is aggressively building its army to dominate the unfenced locations on the Indian side to lay claim on more areas, according to an official paper circulated at a high-level meeting.
The paper, prepared by Indian Police Service officers and submitted at the DGPs/IGPs meet held last week, said the country's border defense strategy should be given a new meaning and purpose with an economic incentive for the future, given India's limitation to be a part of the One Belt One Road (OBOR) or the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. The paper suggests the strategy needs to be area-specific e.G. Border tourism can be promoted aggressively in the Turtuk or Siachen sector, and Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) or Depsang plains, On the the Karakoram pass in the DBO, the paper said it is an ancient connection to India's silk route history, and opening the area to domestic tourists shall counter the remoteness of the idea. It suggested that expeditions on the pass which were famous since the 1930s can be restarted and trekking and hiking areas be opened in a limited manner.
China has a strong economic and strategic need in eastern border sector and they are aggressively building up their army to dominate unfenced areas marked by patrolling points (PPs) on the Indian side to lay their claim on area for further domination, the paper noted.
Apart from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the three-day annual conference was attended also by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and about 350 top police officers of the country.
An officer posted in Ladakh noted in the paper that during an interaction a senior security personnel, whose unit is based right on the forward area, told him it's worth it if India can buy peace with China's PLA for four years by retreating 400 metres.
This came amidst reports that out of 65 patrolling points (PPs), the presence of Indian Security Forces (ISFs) is lost in 26 PPs due to restrictive or no patrolling by the ISFs.
The OBOR project of China has given a greater purpose to the PLA to build road and military infrastructure in the eastern sector that shall also aid the CPEC project connecting the Chinese producers to the Central Asian market and Gwadar port in Pakistan, the paper noted.
Other than the reason that Ladakh is a strategic area for India with a historic connection, the monetisation potential of the region is missing in the country's purpose and so the constant loss of area since 1962 in the form of buffer zones being contested by the adversary keeps the security forces on the backfoot, it said.
The paper noted that for inviting a large number of tourists, nomadic festivals at all India level should be celebrated at Ladakh's Demchok, Koyul, Dungti, Kakjung villages which are located on the banks of Indus river and very close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
According to the paper, the Chota Kailash at Demchok can be opened to tourists to pay obeisance and prayers for the mount Kailash and promote religious tourism for the devout Hindus who cannot go to Mansarovar yatras.
The Mount is under surveillance by PLA's cameras and the access to the top is highly restricted by the army.
The documents said the civilian population near the border are the country's assets and their interests in terms of reclaiming lost pasture lands should be protected.
Manual patrolling in the areas at regular periods needs to be replaced by more sophisticated technologies like camera surveillance and comprehensive integrated border management system, the paper said.
"The surveillance systems need to be tested for harsh weather conditions, strong power and storage backup at subzero temperatures. Premier research institutes like IISc, IITs, post graduate and Phd students can be funded with research by the government to find solutions on the suitable material for sub-zero climatic conditions that can be used in surveillance mechanisms," it suggested.
Patents can be an incentive to promote the research on finding suitable dwelling solutions for Jawans, winter uniform and surveillance, it said.
"Needless to say, this shall cost a lot to the government exchequer and so a monetisation plan of border tourism is required to support the expense, even if it's a small start, it shall serve a purpose," the paper said.
BIZ-EAC-PM-MONUMENTS
Govt should come up with a detailed procedure for declaring monuments of national importance: EAC-PM
New Delhi, Jan 26 (PTI) The Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) has suggested that the government should come up with substantive criteria and a detailed procedure for declaring monuments to be of national importance.
In a report titled 'Monuments of National Importance - Urgent Need for Rationalisation', the EAC-PM pointed out that expenditure on the conservation and maintenance of monuments of national importance is inadequate.
"Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) should come up with substantive criteria and a detailed procedure for declaring monuments to be of national importance.
"It also should publish a book of notifications with detailed information about the provenance of all Monuments of National Importance (MNI)," the report said.
India currently has 3,695 MNI that are under the protection of ASI. The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act (AMASR Act), 1958, (amended in 2010) provides for the declaration and conservation of ancient and historical monuments and archaeological sites and remains of national importance.
The report prepared by EAC-PM member Sanjeev Sanyal has also recommended that the proceeds from these monuments should vest with the implementing bodies.
As per the report, a large number of the present list of MNI were identified as such before 1947 under colonial-era laws.
No attempts were made to comprehensively review the list after independence, it added.
EAC-PM also recommended that minor monuments and antiquities protected as monuments should be denotified as MNI and monuments with local importance should be transferred to respective states for protection.
"Allocation of funds for the protection of MNI should be increased," the report said, adding that at the same time, revenue streams such as tickets, events, fees and other sources should be leveraged more proactively.
The EAC-PM is of the view that an effort should be made to restore geographical balance in the list of MNI.
"Along with rationalising the existing list, other monuments should be added to the list based on well-defined criteria and procedures," it said.
According to the report, around 75 British cemeteries/graves are considered as 'monuments of national importance'.
"Also, various monuments declared as MNI are of local importance and do not necessarily have national significance per se," the report said, adding that 24 monuments of national importance are untraceable.
The report pointed out that over 60 per cent of MNI are located in just 5 states - Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
While the city of Delhi alone has 173 MNI, states like Telangana(8), Bihar (70), and Odisha (80) have disproportionately fewer MNI, it noted.
As per the report, the government had allocated Rs 428 crore for the upkeep and protection of 3,695 monuments, which is approximately Rs 11 lakh per MNI.
"This is too little for a culturally rich and civilisational state like India. Therefore, there is an urgent need to exponentially increase the allocation of funds for the protection and upkeep of monuments," the EAC-PM said.