According to the Defence Minister A.K Antony, Balipara-Charduar-Tawang road will be ready by March 2016 as against its original schedule of 2013. The project which connects Arunachal Pradesh with Assam, is already in the midst public ire for inordinate delay as it is affecting the day to day life of people of Arunachal Pradesh.
317.52 km road project being funded by Ministry of Defence is expected to cost Rs.611.59 crore and Border Road Organisation which is implementing the project has already spent Rs.420.70 crore on the project so far. According to the Defence Minister, 56.94% of the physical work has been completed.
Balipara-Charduar-Tawang Road project has been at the centre of many public protests in Arunachal Pradesh as the people feel that BRO has not taken the project seriously and has taken too long a time to complete the strategically important project. According to the agitating people earth cutting along almost the entire stretch done by BRO has damaged the existing road and delayed project implementation has affected the movement of people in the region. Due to this tourism industry which is the mainstay of local people has been hit hard.
On the other hand, topography and climate are making the task of BRO even more difficult. Also project involves construction of two tunnels totaling a length of 25.4km. BRO officials say that they cannot speed up the pace of project execution due to climate and fragility of the eastern Himalayas at altitudes beyond 7,000ft.