• In a key move aimed at improving all weather connectivity and enabling the swift movement of Indian troops to Arunachal Pradesh bordering China, India Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for the Sela Tunnel Project. 
• The tunnel is being built at an estimated cost of ?687 crores by the Border Roads Organisation and is to be completed in three years.

Few facts about Sela Pass Tunnel 

• The Sela pass tunnel will be constructed by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO). 
• The announcement regarding the construction of the Sela Pass tunnel was made in Union Budget 2018 by then Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. 
• The Central government emphasized that the tunnel will ensure the swift and fast movement of army troops in Tawang which is a strategically-located district located near the border of China.
• Sela Pass is located at an elevation of 13,700 ft. From a strategic point-of-view, the Sela Pass is touted to cut short the distance to China border through Tawang by 10 kilometres. The tunnel will also be a great boost for the defence forces as the travel time between the Indian Army’s 4 Corps headquarters at Tezpur in Assam and Tawang would be cut short by one hour.
• The Sela pass tunnel will also provide a great boost to road-networks and infrastructure in the region. The 171-km stretch between Bomdila and Tawang on the National Highway 13 will be accessible throughout the year.

China along border:

• China has systematically built an extensive military infrastructure in the Tibet Autonomous Region, which includes 14 airbases, an extensive rail network and over 58,000-km of roads. It gives the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) the capability to swiftly induct and sustain 30-32 divisions (each with over 12,000 troops) along the LAC. Moreover, China is now also constructing underground hangers and parking bays for its fighters by digging tunnels into mountains at some of the airbases. 
• Incidentally, during the 1962 war, China’s invasion into India progressed swiftly after Se La, located on the border between the Tawang and West Kameng districts of Arunachal, was overrun by the PLA.