Jammu: The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has put the onus of the delayed start of work on the strategically important proposed 5.5-km-long Khardung La tunnel in Ladakh on the UT administration, stating that the project could not take off due to the absence of financial support from the UT government.
The proposed tunnel, to be constructed under Khardung La—one of the world’s highest motorable roads—has been awaiting execution notwithstanding the fact that the BRO has prepared the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the same.
The BRO officials revealed that the work could have moved faster if the UT government had provided funds for the project. They, however, announced that it would now construct the tunnel through the defence budget.
The issue came to light during a briefing to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence, where BRO officials informed that DPRs for both the Khardung La tunnel and another proposed tunnel on the Batalik road had already been completed. These projects were initially entrusted to the BRO by the Ladakh administration. However, officials pointed out that no funding mechanism was put in place beyond the DPR stage.
Responding to queries from committee members regarding road infrastructure in Leh, the Director General (DG) BRO, while referring to the Demand for Grants (2025–26), said, “With this type of surge in the Budget, we are very much capable of producing the roads in the required timeframes. The DPRs for both the roads (the Khardung La tunnel and the other tunnel which were proposed for the Batalik Road) were done by us because these were entrusted to us by the UT of Ladakh. But however, beyond the DPR, there is no funding mechanism available”.
“Now, we are trying to do the Khardung La tunnel through the defence budget. It will happen first as it is of priority, and the process is currently on. If the UT Government had funded these tunnels, we could have gone ahead. That being pending, we are seeing the wrong way. The funds could be arranged to make this tunnel. But between the two, the Khardung La tunnel stands as the priority,” the top BRO officer said.
Once completed, the Khardung La tunnel is expected to reduce travel time between Leh and the Nubra Valley by nearly an hour. It will also enhance safety for commuters by bypassing avalanche- and landslide-prone stretches. Besides, it would also protect the Khardung glacier, which is a major source of water for Leh town, from receding due to the increase in heat emitted by automotive vehicular movement.
Asked about the status of the all-weather tunnel being built under treacherous high-altitude Shinkun La pass, the DG BRO submitted, “Shunkun La Tunnel is going well in time and we are making good progress in that. As regards the NPD (Nimmu-Padum-Darcha) road, we plan to inaugurate it this year itself.”
The development is strategically significant as the NPD road will provide a shorter and more reliable route to Leh from Manali in Himachal Pradesh, bypassing the traditional Manali-Leh highway. The route crosses only one high-altitude pass—Shinkun La (16,558 feet)—under which a tunnel is being constructed to ensure all-weather connectivity.
Once operational, the NPD axis is expected to play a crucial role in facilitating faster troop movement towards areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), thereby enhancing India’s strategic preparedness in the region.
On being asked about the status of Indo-China Border roads (ICBRs) and roads in difficult terrains including J&K and Ladakh, it was revealed that a total of five roads have been undertaken for execution in the phase two of ICBRs with an original approved road length of 196.96 km. The road length was later revised to 174 km. “So far, two roads have been completed, while work on three roads is still pending.
In the Phase-I, as many as 12 strategically-important roads with the revised length of 1099.02 km approved out of which 11 roads have been completed.
