Minister of State for Home Mullapally Ramachandran unveiled the foundation stone for the construction of an Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Jogbani in Bihar on the Indo-Nepal border today.
The setting up of ICPs along India’s international borer is a major initiative which the Government of India has taken up as part of a Plan scheme, with an initial outlay of Rs 635 crore during the XIth Five Year Plan.
The ICP at Jogbani is the third in the country after Attari in Punjab and Raxaul in Bihar, where construction is currently on. The estimated cost of the Jogbani Project is Rs 82.49 crore. Spread over nearly 190 acres of land, it is expected to be completed by August, 2011.
According to an official press release, salient features of the ICP include a modular design, dedicated lanes for each process, separate gates for traffic across the border, least traffic conflicts, self-evident routes, guide signage and administrative and facility area.
The facilities at the ICP will include passenger terminal building, currency exchange, Internet connections, cargo process building, cargo inspection sheds, warehouse/cold storage, quarantine laboratory, clearing agents, banks, scanners, parking, cafetaria, isolation bay and other public utilities.
The release said the Department of Border Management in the Home Ministry had finalized the Detailed Project Reports for the 13 ICPs to be set up on the borders between India and Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Myanmar.
They are meant to overcome the infrastructural bottlenecks at the various entry and exit points on the land borders of the country. They are expected to provide facilities for effective and efficient discharge of sovereign functions such as security, immigration, customs, quarantine, and so on, while also providing support facilities for smooth cross-border movement of persons, goods and transport.
A Bill has been introduced in Parliament for the establishment of a Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI), which has been envisaged as a statutory body for the planning, construction, maintenance and management of these ICPs. This body will be vested with powers on the lines of similar bodies like the Airports Authority of India. Till the LPAI comes into existence, an Empowered Steering Committee has been constituted under the Secretary (Border Management) to undertake the functions that will be ultimately discharged by the LPAI, the release added.