By IANS
New Delhi : The government will raise 35 paramilitary battalions to combat Maoists and others posing internal security threats, Minister of State for Home Affairs Shri Prakash Jaiswal told the Rajya Sabha Wednesday.
“The union government has recently approved the raising of 35 additional India Reserve battalions during 2007-08 to 2009-10, to be sanctioned, as per the internal security situation and requirements, to various states, including those affected by Naxalite activities,” Jaiswal said.
India Reserve battalions can be deployed anywhere in the country at short notice. Their task is to assist the police in emergencies.
The minister said 26 India Reserve battalions had been sanctioned to aid the police in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
The home ministry has also asked state governments to fill up long-pending vacancies in police forces and raise specialised units trained in counter-insurgency and jungle warfare.