THE Union Cabinet on Wednesday sanctioned seven new battalions and an operational border base with a fresh strength of 9,400 personnel for the India-China LAC guarding force Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), officials said.

The proposal was cleared after the meeting of the Cabinet that was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

With the aim of providing all weather connectivity between Ladakh and the rest of the country, it also gave the nod for the construction of a 4-km-long Shinkun La tunnel along with an approach road.

According to the Government sanction, the fresh manpower will be utilised for manning 47 new border posts and a dozen ‘staging camps’ or troops bases along this frontier. The Armies of India and China are engaged in a stand-off in Ladakh since 2020. The about 90,000 personnel strong ITBP was raised in the aftermath of the 1962 Chinese aggression and it is tasked to guard the 3,488-km-long Line of Actual Control (LAC) on India’s eastern flank.

In 2020, the Cabinet had sanctioned 47 new border outposts along with setting up of 12 staging camps. These are currently being set up, Thakur said, informing that for manning these outposts and staging camps, it was decided by the Cabinet on Wednesday, to raise seven new battalions.

Apart from this, the Shinkun La tunnel along with an approach road would be constructed. The Cabinet approved this proposal and the tunnel is expected to be completed by December 2025, Thakur told reporters. It will entail a cost of Rs 1,681 crore and its construction will lead to Ladakh’s connectivity with Zanskar valley through an all weather road.