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• The Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI), a body which will facilitate planning, construction, maintenance and management of Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) along international borders, will soon become a reality with issuance of a government notification today. The LPAI, which was vested with powers on the lines of similar bodies like the Airports Authority of India, has been tasked with the responsibility of putting in place systems to address security imperatives relating to cross border movement of passengers, vehicles and goods besides developing ICPs. "In the first phase seven ICPs are proposed to be set up, of which five are under construction. The ICP at Attari is expected to be operationalised shortly," a Home Ministry statement said.

• The LPAI would function as a body corporate under the Department of Border Management, Ministry of Home Affairs and it will have a Chairman and two whole-time members besides representation of officials from the Centre and the States. The ICPs are expected to provide facilities for effective and efficient discharge of sovereign functions such as security, immigration, customs and quarantine, while also providing support facilities for smooth cross-border movement of people, goods and transport. The ICPs are envisaged to overcome the infrastructural bottlenecks at the various entry and exit points on the land borders of the country. Apart from Attari (Punjab), the locations of other ICP are Raxaul (Bihar), Petrapole, Hili, Chandrabangha (all in West Bengal), Moreh (Manipur), Dawki (Meghalaya), Akhaura (Tripura), Jogbani (Bihar), Sutarkhandi (Assam), Kawarpuchiah (Mizoram), Sunauli and Rupaidiha (both Uttar Pradesh).

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