The government has adopted modern ways to measure India’s borders shared with neighbouring countries, a move which has increased the length of the country’s international border on atleast one frontier. The length of the India-Nepal border has increased by around 117 kilometres.
While the government is yet to reconconcile the change from the official 1,751 km to 1,868 km, it is clear that the new technology being used is giving a better picture to the security forces. Among the new tools to measure border length is the GPS and “total station’’ which employs the electro-optical distance metering method, emitting laser beams to a target and detecting light reflected off it. Earlier, when there was no digital equipment available, chains were used to give a precise assessment.
“The survey techniques have significantly improved in the last fifty years. They are helping us in manning the borders in a better way,” a home ministry official said.
However, the figures quoted on the border lengths have varied in the last few years. MHA officials said while 1,751 km has been the official length of the India-Nepal border, some references were made to the revised 1,868 km figure few years back but it could not find its way in official records.
The Union home ministry’s annual report (2012-13) gives out the length of India’s borders with neighbouring countries as 4096.7 km with Bangladesh, 3,488 km with China, 3323 km with Pakistan, 1,751 km with Nepal, 1,643 km with Burma, 699 km with Bhutan and 106 km with Afghanistan.
Using this as its basis, the MHA has recorded that the country has a total of 15,106.7 km. of land border and a coastline of 7,516.6 km. including island territories.
“Any change in the border lengths has to be reconciled. It is an international boundary and requires discussion with the neighbouring country,” an official said refusing to elaborate on the reasons for the delay in revising the figures.
Home ministry officials said that a correct estimate of the border length comes in handy at a time when host of measures are being taken to fill the critical gaps by constructing more border outposts and improving border patrolling techniques.