Can trade in the Northeast boom with Integrated Check Posts?

NEW DELHI: Efficient cross-border transport connectivity and logistics are building blocks for optimizing trade potentiality. The initiative to establish Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) along India's borders is one such building block for efficient connectivity and logistics. Some of them can be converted into multi-modal ICPs for more cross-border trade with further efficiency.

ICPs, along with well-established transport connectivity up to the border check posts, resembles a single window infrastructure for all import-export activities. These include all necessary support services such as customs processing hall, customs and immigration clearance hall, weighbridges, quarantine facilities, export and import warehouses, area for loose cargo, parking area, security services, canteen for staff, toilet blocks, and administrative building to ensure smooth operation of cross-border trade.

The ICPs in India are operated and managed by the Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI), a statutory body under the Department of Border Management, Ministry of Home Affairs, established under the Land Ports Authority of India Act, 2010. The provisions of the Act came into force in March, 2012. It gives powers to LPAI to develop, sanitize and manage the facilities for cross-border movements of passengers and goods at designated points along the international borders of India.

Since its inception in 2012, the LPAI has developed nine ICPs - four at the India-Bangladesh borders (Agartala, Petrapole, Srimantapur, Sutarkandi); two at the India-Nepal borders (Jogbani, Raxaul); one at India-Myanmar border (Moreh); and two at the India-Pakistan borders (Attari, Dera Baba Nanak). Out of them, the Dera Baba Nanak ICP at Kartarpur in Punjab is exclusively dedicated to passenger movement.

In 2020-21, as per the LPAI, these ICPs facilitated trade worth Rs 95,488 crore, which constitutes about 40 per cent of India's total trade with neighboring countries. This is nearly three-fold jump compared to trade through these check posts in 2012-13, valued at Rs 32,746 crore. Furthermore, in 2020-21, they facilitated cross-border movements of 262,396 persons.

Several new ICPs are planned to be set up in the coming periods, and the number is expected to reach 24 by 2030. Considering their trade and transit potential, it is an imperative that ICPs are connected through other possible modes of transportation such as railways, waterways, and also airways, so as to enable them to work as multi-modal nodes to further advance inter-regional and intra-regional connectivity and trade.

Some ICPs already have more than one mode of connectivity. For instance, a six-km-long railway line between Raxaul in India and Sirsiya Inland Container Depot (ICD) near Birgunj in Nepal is under operation and used for freight transport between the two countries. Also, work is in progress to connect Jogbani (India) to Biratnagar (Nepal) and beyond through a 18.6 km long broad gauge line connecting with the industrial area of Biratnagar in Nepal.

A few other ICPs are suitably placed to be connected through more than one mode of transportation. All of them are in North-East India. The LPAI should take them as priority for multi-modal ICPs.

Sutarkandi, Assam: Sutarkandi, located at a distance of about 15 km from Karimganj town in Assam, has an operational ICP. This ICP mirrors Shewla in Bangladesh. It has close proximity to different modes of transportation; National Highways, railways, and waterways. Two National Highways (NH-151 and NH-7) pass through Sutarkandi and connects Sutarkandi to Karimganj in India and Sylhet in Bangladesh. The Mahishasan railway station, defunct since 1966, is located just 10 km away from this ICP and has the potential to be extended to Shahabajpur in Sylhet, Bangladesh and further to Akhaura in Bangladesh, which is close to Agartala, Tripura. Furthermore, there is waterway connectivity via the river Kushiara at Lakhi Bazar, which is just three km from this ICP. The nearest airport to Sutarkandi is Silchar, which is 100 km away. Strengthening of multi-modal transport connectivity at this ICP through the revival of rail route and other modes of transportation can be a game-changer for the Barak Valley in Assam and also for western Tripura and adjoining areas of Bangladesh.

Sabroom, Tripura: This is a proposed ICP located in South Tripura district along the international border mirroring Ramgarh in Bangladesh. The foundation stone for the ICP was laid in March, 2021 and construction work has started. The project is likely to be completed in the next one-and-half years (August, 2023). On the other hand, the Bangladesh Government is also in the process of constructing new infrastructure at Ramgarh. This ICP will have connectivity with NH-08 and NH-208. The construction of the 122-km-long Agartala to Sabroom section of NH-08, including the Feni Bridge at the international border of India and Bangladesh in the State of Tripura, is in progress. The 265-km-long NH-208 starts from its junction with NH 08-near Kumarghat and connects various locations of Tripura to the Sabroom ICP, including Kailashahar, Khowai, Teliamura, Amarpur. The Sabroom railway station is located at a distance of less than 5 km from this ICP. It is well-connected with Agartala, the capital city of Tripura. A 114.6-km-long railway line between Agartala and Sabroom has been operational since October, 2019. Sabroom is directly connected to the Chattogram Port of Bangladesh, which is about 75 km from the proposed ICP and is connected through 1.8-km-long Maitree Setu (bridge) on the river Feni. A significant development near the Sabroom ICP is the Indian Government's decision to set up a Special Economic Zone (SEZ). There are plans to set up rubber, bamboo, agri-based products and food processing industries in this SEZ. The foundation for the same was already laid in September, 2020. Ensuring effective and efficient connectivity to the Sabroom ICP through different modes of transportation will not only be a huge boost to inter-regional and intra-regional connectivity in the Northeast region of India, but it will also be an enabling factor for the people and products from the Northeast region to have easier economic access to the rest of the world. IANS

(TO BE CONCLUDED)

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