By IANS,
New Delhi : Karnataka Monday sought funds from the central government to set up and run a commando training centre in the state to tackle threat from Maoists and terrorists and coastal security concerns.
“I must confess that the training facilities available at present are not up to the mark,” Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa told a meeting of chief ministers on internal security. The meet was inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here.
Yeddyurappa said, “Police personnel of the coastal security units, anti-Naxal force, anti-terrorist cells and Quick Reaction Teams have to be constantly under training to remain fit and to upgrade their skills.”
Karnataka has a 320-km coastline on its west. Maoists are active in at least four of the state’s 29 districts – Chickmagalur, Shimoga, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi. There have been two terror attacks in Bangalore in December 2005 and July 2008.
Yeddyurappa wanted the central government to enlarge the scope of its Modernisation of State Police Forces (MPF) scheme to fund police personnel. At present the scheme funds purchase of vehicles, equipment, buildings.
“The government of India has been consistently refusing to fund any police personnel under any of its schemes. I feel the functions being performed by the state government are very much an integral part of internal security. The coastal security and anti-terrorist cells could be cited as examples,” he said.
He said the central government “must now consider bearing or at least sharing the burden of expenditure on police personnel involved in coastal security and anti-terrorist duties. This will help the state governments in expeditiously filling up the posts created in these units and make them fully functional”.
To beef up security, Karnataka has sought sanction of three India Reserve Battalions which are funded by the central government, establishment of an Indo-Tibetan Border Police battalion, 18 coastal check posts, Rs.500 million (Rs.50 crore) for providing GPS (global positioning systems) to 40,000 fishing boats and two helicopters with day and night operational capacity for surveillance and emergency rescue operations.
“While the central government has been generally very supportive, we have no categorical assurance nor any information on the action taken by the union home ministry regarding these requests,” Yeddyurappa told the meeting which was also attended by union Home Minister P. Chidambaram.