Effective Border Management

India has one of the longest and most varied of international borders. Border Management is an integral approach towards borders in which along with security enhancement, infrastructure & human development is undertaken.

Challenges with respect to border management:

1. Mass migrations into India.
2. Current fence:
   • High rate of degradation due to snow and has to be repaired after every season which costs about Rs. 50-60 crore every year.
   • Over time infiltrators have devised ways to cross it.
3. India’s internal security challenges are inextricably linked with border management. Indian insurgent groups have for long been provided shelter across the nation’s borders by inimical neighbors.
4. No real-time coordination:
   • Due to the lack of understanding of military issues among the decision-making elite.
5. Border management is designed for a ‘firefighting’ approach rather than a ‘fire prevention’ or pro-active approach
   • It is based on a strategy of ‘reaction and retaliation’ rather than on a holistic response to the prevailing environment, resulting in stress and decision making problems at the functional level.
6. Due to the non-permanent presence of the Myanmar’s army in that region, the reason primarily being the hostile terrain, ousting the Indian militants remains a challenge.
   • Similarly, ethnic rebels from Myanmar have found bases within states like Mizoram. Thus, the 1,643 kilometer long Indo-Myanmar border remains a challenge.
7. The border security scenario is marked by
   • increased cross-border terrorism
   • infiltration and ex-filtration of armed militants
   • emergence of non-state actors
   • nexus between narcotics traffickers and arms smugglers
   • left-wing extremism
   • separatist movements aided and abetted by external powers
8. Perennial and Seasonal Rivers via which terrorists can infiltrate.
9. Un-demarcated boundaries with overlapping claims cause constant friction along borders.
10. Mountainous and Hilly terrain especially in North Indian borders which are snow clad and inhabitable during winter season.
11. Unilateral actions by some nations to change the status quo in their favour.
12. Lack of Inter agency cooperation and coordination
13. Support of state and non-state actors to aid infiltration, smuggling, trafficking etc.

Strategies for effective border management:

• 24x7x365 day surveillance along Indo-Pak border with 5 layer smart fence.
• Agreement on basic guiding principles and standard operating procedures
• Increasing confidence building measures and communication linkages to avoid unnecessary confrontation and escalation.
• Integrated border management by involving and enhancing cooperation with counterparts of neighboring countries especially along open borders.
• Effective implementation of the recommendations of One Border One Force by the Task Force on Border Management to weeds out inter agency frictions.
• Community measures and awareness can be deployed along open borders to prevent illegal activities.
• Implementation of Border Area Development Programme and other developmental initiatives so that there is no feeling of being left out.

Way forward:

1. Infrastructure along with border has to be improved – rail connectivity along with road connectivity has to be provided for quick mobilization.
2. Building of additional checkpoints and Border posts along major and minor trade routes connected with borders
3. Building of floating bridges, walls & electrical fences where there is high probability of infiltration.
4. Taking up of joint Border management with Countries like Myanmar, Bhutan and Nepal.
5. Improving healthcare, physical infrastructure and digital connectivity in villages around borders thus making them stakeholder in Border Management.
6. Madhav Godbole task force recommendations on border management need to be implemented.
   • CRPF should be designated as the primary national level counter-insurgency force. This would enable the other central paramilitary forces like the BSF and Indo-Tibetan Border Police to return to their primary role of better border management.
   • All paramilitary forces managing unsettled borders should operate directly under the control of the army and that there should be lateral induction from the army to the paramilitary forces so as to enhance their operational effectiveness.
7. The principle of ‘single point control’ must be followed if the borders are to be effectively managed.
8. The advances in surveillance technology, particularly satellite and aerial imagery, can help to maintain a constant vigil along the LAC and make it possible to reduce physical deployment.

Conclusion:

Focusing on improved technology will help in making the task easier for the security forces and make its borders more secure.