Border Roads Organisation

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is a statutory body under the ownership of the Ministry of Defence of the Government of India. BRO develops and maintains road networks in India's border areas and friendly neighboring countries. This includes infrastructure operations in 19 states and three union territories (including Andaman and Nicobar Islands) and neighboring countries such as Afghanistan, Bhutan, Myanmar, Tajikistan, and Sri Lanka. By 2022, BRO had constructed over of roads, over 450 permanent bridges with a total length of over , and 19 airfields in strategic locations. BRO is also tasked with maintaining this infrastructure, including operations such as snow clearance. The organisations motto is Shramena Sarvam Sadhyam (everything is achievable through hardwork).

BRO is instrumental in significantly upgrading and building new India-China Border Roads (ICBRs). BRO set a Guinness World Record in November 2021 for the "highest altitude road" at Umling La, Ladakh. To ensure coordination and expeditious execution of projects, the Government of India set up the Border Roads Development Board (BRDB) with the prime minister as chairman of the board and with the defence minister as deputy chairman.

Today, the BRDB exercises the financial and other powers of a Department of the Government of India and is chaired by the Minister of State for Defence. Among others, Chief(s) of Army and Air Staff, Engineer-in-Chief, Director General Border Roads (DGBR), and FA(DS) are members of the BRDB. The secretary of the board exercises the powers of Joint Secretary to the Government of India. The executive head of the BRO is the Director General Border Roads (DGBR), who holds the rank of lieutenant general. In a bid to boost border connectivity, BRO has been entirely brought under the Ministry of Defence in 2015. Earlier, it received funds from the Ministry of Surface Transport under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

Organisation

The BRO consists of the Border Roads Wing under the Ministry of Defense and the General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF). Officers are selected through the IES Examination conducted by the UPSC. Officers are also deputed from the Indian Army Corps of Engineers, who are posted to GREF on ERE. The GREF includes civil engineers, mechanical engineers, administrative officers, and medical officers.

The Border Roads Engineering Service (BRES) officers are governed by the Central Civil Services (CCS/ CCA) Rules, 1965. They are also subjected to all provisions of the Army Act, 1950 and Army Rules, 1954, except for a few exceptions as given in SRO 329 and SRO 330, both 23 September 1960. GREF is an integral part of the Armed Forces within meaning of Article 33 of the Constitution of India and members of GREF are also members of the Armed Forces as declared by the Supreme Court in respect of R. Viswan vs Union of India 1983 and authorized for all benefits which apply to Armed Forces of India.

An Internal Financial Advisor (IFA) supports the BRO, performing the roles of Chief Accounts Officer and Internal Auditor. This system was introduced on 23 March 1995 to introduce efficiency and improve resource utilisation. The IFA secured ISO 9001 certification in December 1999. The organisation employs laborers locally. No local labourer is deployed in BRO for more than 179 days at a stretch, thus keeping the nature of their employment casual.

Director General of Border Roads

thumb|BRO Organization Chart

A list of the Director General of Border Road (DGBR):

{| class="wikitable"

! colspan="2" |List of DGBR

!Officeholders

|Maj Gen KN Dubey,

|Maj Gen RA Loomba

|Maj Gen Arjan Singh

|Maj Gen JS Bawa,

|Brig Gobinder Singh <small>(officiating)</small>

|Maj Gen VV Bhide,

|Maj Gen JS Soin,

|Maj Gen S Ahluwalia,

|Maj Gen JM Rai,

|10

|Maj Gen JC Sachdeva,

|11

|Lt Gen MS Gosain,

|12

|Lt Gen Maharaj Singh,

|13

|Lt Gen Vimal Shinghal,

|14

|Lt Gen RJ Mordecai,

|15

|Lt Gen AK Puri,

|16

|Lt Gen Prakash Suri,

|17

|Lt Gen Ranjit Singh,

|18

|Lt Gen KS Rao,

|19

|Lt Gen AK Nanda,

|20

|Lt Gen MC Badhani,

|21

|Lt Gen S Ravi Shankar,

|22

|Lt Gen AT Parnaik,

|23

|Lt Gen RM Mittal,

|24

|Lt Gen Suresh Sharma,

|25

|Lt Gen SK Shrivastava,

|26

|Lt Gen Harpal Singh,

|27

|Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry,

|28

|Lt Gen Raghu Srinivasan, (incumbent)

Centres of excellence

In June 2021, the "Centre of Excellence for Road Safety & Awareness" and "Centre of Excellence for Roads, Bridges, Air Fields and Tunnels" were set up.

Ranks

; Officers

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;Other ranks

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Role of the BRO

alt=|thumb|385x385px|A Himank BRO road sign in Ladakh

BRO is entrusted with the construction of roads, bridges, tunnels, causeways, helipads, and airfields. The BRO is also in charge of the maintenance of its road networks. In many places, landslides, avalanches, and snow block the routes and have to be cleared as quickly as possible. BRO also employs more than 200,000 casual paid labourers for the task.

Border infrastructure development

In response to the ever-present security threat from Pakistan and increased incursions and rapid border infrastructure from China, India, too, is undertaking border infrastructure development.

Project names by geography

The BRO undertakes projects in India and friendly countries. These projects typically include developing roads, bridges, and airfields in hostile environments shunned by private enterprises, whether due to security concerns related to hostilities or because of environmental challenges. BRO has been active during the 1962 war, the conflicts with Pakistan in 1965 and 1971, and has also been active in anti-insurgency operations in the northeast. (Bhutan), Himank, Hirak, Pushpak, Sampark, Yojak, Sewak, Shivalik, Swastik, Udayak, Vartak and Vijayak.

Project Vijayak, raised in 2010, Project Vijayak has developed over 1,400 km of roads and 80 bridges in Ladakh. On its 15th Raising Day in 2025, it announced ₹1,200 crore worth of new works, including tunnels, bridges, and advanced road technologies. The project is noted for reopening the Zojila Pass within 31 days in 2025, and reflects India’s focus on connectivity and development in remote frontier

{| class="wikitable"

|+BRO projects in India and friendly nations

!BRO Projects

!HQ/ Location

!Notes

! colspan="4" |Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh

|Beacon

|Srinagar

|Beacon is the oldest BRO project (along with Vartak). Initially known as Chief Engineer Roads (Ladakh) when it was initiated in 1960, it was renamed as Chief Engineer Project Beacon. Roads under Beacon include NH1A, NH1B, NH1D, Zoji La tunnel.

|Nimmu-Padam-Darcha

|Ladhak

|strategically important all-weather 298 km long Nimmu-Padam-Darcha Road

! colspan="4" |Sikkim, Northeast

|Vartak

|Tezpur

|One of two projects raised in May 1960 and focused on Arunachal Pradesh. Formerly designated Project Tusker. Undertakes China Study Group roads.

|Sewak

|Dimapur

|Road development in the north-east amidst insurgency; roads include the Zunheboto-Aghunato-Kiphire road.

| 4,500

|/year between 2015-20

| 2018–2019

| 2025–2026

| 16,000

| In two years alone, 2015–16 and 2016–17, prime minister Narendra Modi's government has allocated more than US$4.7 billion in contracts for the development of border roads, which also includes the US$256 million India–Myanmar–Thailand Trilateral Highway from Moreh in Manipur through Tamu, Myanmar to Mae Sot in Thailand.

In July 2020, BRO was also tasked with building new roads to connect eastern Bhutan to western Tawang area such as Lumla-Trashigang road through Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary.

Road bridges

To provide multiple points of alternative connectivity to the forces, BRO is building 410 2-lane class-70 (heavy load bearing including tanks) road bridges along the long McMahon Line border with China, including 144 in Arunachal Pradesh (75 already under construction and will be completed by 2020), 100 under construction in Jammu and Kashmir, 55 under construction in Uttrakhand, 40 under construction in Sikkim and 25 under construction in Himachal Pradesh (c. Dec 2017). The annual pace of construction is of bridges (c. Dec 2017).

Border tunnels

In November 2017, BRO announced the plan to construct 17 road and rail tunnels, with a total length of , on some of the 73 strategic roads on the Sino-Indian border to provide year-round all-weather rail and road surface connectivity. Currently, surface access to high altitude posts on the Sino-India border is closed for six months every year due to snowfall and rain, and supplies are through air lift only. Some of these 17 tunnels are already under construction, including Srinagar-Kargil-Leh NH1 in J&K (Zoji La pass tunnel), Leh-Manali Highway in J&K and Himachal Pradesh (Lungalacha La, Bara-lacha la, Tanglang La, Shingo La near Nimo and Rohtang Tunnel), 578 meter Theng Pass tunnel on NH310A between Chungthang and Tung in North Sikkim, Nechipu Pass (near Bomdila) and Sela Pass tunnels on Bogibeel Assam to Sagalee to Tawang NH13 in Arunachal Pradesh. This will reduce the travel time and operational costs, and eliminate the risk of avalanches and landslides.

Other projects

Overseas infrastructure development

Some of these projects carry out some of the development initiatives of the Indian government in foreign territories like Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Myanmar, and Bhutan. These include the Delaram-Zaranj Highway in Afghanistan, completed and handed over to the Afghan government during 2008, and the restoration of the Farkhor and Ayni air bases in Tajikistan.

Disaster management and reconstruction

The BRO also played a vital role in reconstruction work in the aftermath of the devastating 2004 tsunami in Tamil Nadu, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake,

and the 2010 Ladakh flash floods.

Decorations

Summary count

Awards attained by BRO personnel between 1960 and 31 January 2020:

23 × Kirti Chakra
218 × Shaurya Chakra
2 × Bar to Shaurya Chakra
2 × Padam Shree
16 × Param Vishisht Seva Medals
43 × Ati Vishist Seva Medals
110 × Vishisht Seva Medals
25 × Sena Medals
3 × Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak
17 × Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak
69 × Jeevan Raksha Padak

thumb|The President, [[A. P. J. Abdul Kalam|A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, presenting the Shaurya Chakra Award to Mrs. Raji Genesan EX-GS-173840X, Genesan M, BRO (Posthumous) 2007]]

In 2009, eight Shaurya Chakras, all posthumous, were awarded to BRO personnel for their actions in places such as Afghanistan, Sikkim, the north-east and Jammu and Kashmir. Bulldozer operator Zalim Singh, Bar to the Shaurya Chakra, was crushed by boulders while clearing a strategic road for Indian Army tanks. Two BRO men working on BRO's Project Zaranj in Afghanistan were killed during a suicide bomb attack on Zaranj-Delaram highway. Engineer Santosh Kumar Singh and driver Jaikrit Singh Rawat, while working on the Kishtwar-Sinthan Pass, died in an ambush. Others died or were killed in places such as Meghalaya, Kailash Mansarovar, Kali River, and Hapoli Sarli-Huri road.

Recognition

In November 2021, BRO received a Guinness World Record for the "highest altitude road" following construction at Umling La. In June 2021, with the assistance of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), Kanchan Ugursandi made a solo motorcycle expedition to Umling La.

Gallery

File:The Minister of State for Defence, Shri Jitendra Singh in a group photographs during the Chief Engineers Conference, organised by the Border Roads Organisation, in New Delhi on September 24, 2013.jpg|The Minister of State for Defence in a group photograph during the Chief Engineers Conference, organised by the BRO, 2013

File:The Union Minister for Defence, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman releasing a Border Roads Organisation (BRO) Coffee table book ‘Will of Steel’, in New Delhi.jpg|Union Minister for Defence releasing a Border Roads Organisation (BRO) Coffee table book 'Will of Steel', in New Delhi. NSA is also present.

File:The Director General, Border Roads, Lt Gen Arun Kumar Nanda addressing an Annual Press Conference on the eve of 48th Raising Day of the Border Roads Organisation, in New Delhi on May 06, 2008.jpg|Director General, Border Roads, Lt Gen Arun Kumar Nanda addressing an Annual Press Conference on the eve of 48th Raising Day of the BRO, 2008

File:BRO messages in Ladakh.jpg|BRO road signs

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