Till late  fifties,  road  communications in the Northern  & North  Eastern  borders of the country were virtually non-existent. In J&K, Leh was connected with Srinagar with an indifferent Jeepable track.  Sikkim had no  motorable road beyond Gangtok. There was no semblance of road communication  in  Bhumn.  In  NEFA, only fair weather Jeep tracks existed  upto Bomdila and Zero. Conditions in Nagaland Mizo hills were equally unsatisfactory. Annexation of Tibet  followed by massive Chinese build up left no option but to construct roads upto India's traditional borders. Construction of Roads became synonymous with the determination to defend the  country  of  its  culture and its way of life. It is with this  back drop  of  grave  national  emergency and awe inspiring odds that Border Roads Organisation was born and became opera tional almost overnight.

On 29 Mar 1960, while addressing the first meeting of Border Roads Development  Board,  Pandit   Jawaharlal   Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India announced a special status for BRDB to cut down procedural delays and also laid down top priority for  strategic  roads  in  Ladakh and NEFA regions.  The  new  Organisation was to start with Army Engineers forming  a  nucleus,  construct  roads  with a time bound  programme  of  two  years and  wind  up  thereafter.  01 June 1960 was fixed as target date for commencement of work. "Before the Chinese operations started, arterial roads of  length  1400 miles had been cut at altitudes varying between 5000 to 18000 feet and 132 Border Roads  personnel  had  laid  down  their lives in the process. Border Roads Organisation  (BRO) had had its baptism.

The BRO acquitted itself very well in support  of  Army  both  in  1962 and  65 operations and the need to make it  permanent was dulyrecognised. It provided invaluable  assistance to Army  in  1971 operations also. To this day BRO has won 3 Param Vishishta Seva Medals, 10 Kirti Chakras, 2 Padma Shrees, 21 Ati Vishishta Seva Medals, 99 Shaurya Chakras,  28 Vishishta Seva Medals and 8 Sena Medals.

The process of gradual expansion, diversification and consolidation continued after 1911 operations. By Nov. 1983, the number of Projects under BRO had increased  to  12  from  the   initial   two in June 1960. Some of the finest contructions in the country in the remote border areas is credited to BRO including Tengavaliey Complex for Army, 250 beds Army hospital in Ladakh  and  complex for Marijpur Police and Assam Rifles. Indo Bhutan micro-wave link,  prestigious India  house  complex  and  airfield at Paro in Bhutan have also been constructed  by  BRO.   It has  also  made  a mark on the international scene by exporting its technical expertise to  West  Asian Countries through IRCC Ltd.

BRO, today, has a permanent role in defence of the country and speedy economic development of inaccessible border area epitomising national integration. It stands out as a premier road construction agency of the  country producing a network of 500 K.M. of well finished roads every year, besides maintenance of some 16000 K.M. of surface and unsurfaced  roads.  18000  K.M.  of  roads to progress constructed in remote, climatically inhospitable, barren, rocky and snow bound areas are a saga of cold courage, sheer determination and tremendous dedication.

Source : Information Folder issued by Indian Posts & Telegraph Department, Government of India