India is planning to invest approximately USD 3.7 billion in its fencing its 1610 km (1,000-mile border) over the next decade to curb smuggling and other illicit activities as per a report by an Indian media agency.
Earlier this year, New Delhi announced its intention to fence the border and terminate a longstanding visa-free movement policy with Myanmar for border residents citing national security reasons and the need to preserve the demographic composition of its northeastern region.
According to same report, a government committee recently approved the fencing cost project which now awaits approval from the Prime Minister Narendra Modi Cabinet. Myanmar has not yet commented on India’s fencing plans.
Following a coup in Myanmar, in 2021, thousands of civilians and troops have fled to Indian states where people from both sides share ethnic and familial ties. This has raised concerns in New Delhi about the potential for communal tensions to spill over in India.
Certain members of the Indian government have also attributed to the tense situation in Manipur a restive northeastern state bordering Myanmar to the porous border. The committee of the senior Indian officials have also approved the construction of parallel roads alongside the fence and 1700km of feeder roads connecting military barracks to the border.
For nearly a year now, Manipur has been engulfing by a civil war-like situation between two ethnic groups, one of which shares lineage with Myanmar’s Chin Tribe.
The cost of the fence and the accompanying road infrastructure is estimated at nearly 125 million rupees per km, more than double the cost of 55 million km border fence built with Bangladesh in 2020. This higher cost is attributed to the challenging hilly terrain and implementation of technology to deter intrusion and corrosion.
