In an exclusive interview to Express Newsline here on Thursday, Director-General of Civil Defence M K Shukla said that since civil defence personnel were unpaid volunteers, it was desirable that their families be paid some amount in case of any untoward incident.

The amendment would also provide for protection to volunteers in case they trespassed others' rights in the larger interest of the society and were booked for these lapses, he said.

Claiming that civil defence volunteers and home guards were doing yeoman service in assisting the police and security forces in enforcement of law and maintenance of peace and order -- particularly the insurgency-hit states of the North-East and Punjab and the Naxalite areas of Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh -- Shukla said two battalions of the Border Wing Home Guards were working shoulder-to-shoulder with the Border Security Force in guarding the international land border of Gujarat with Pakistan and checking infiltration of militants.

Shukla said the Union Home Ministry had also sanctioned the BSF's demand for two more battalions for Gujarat's coastal border. He said that the Nagaland home minister had also placed a demand for two battalions of home guards to assist the local police and central security agencies in anti-insurgency operations in the State.

While describing the civil defence's work in the 1971 war and in earthquake relief operations at Latur and Kilari as excellent, Shukla also made mention of their work in the Uphaar fire tragedy and the school-bus mishap in the Yamuna.

There were about 5 lakh home guards and 4.8 lakh civil defence volunteers all over the country, he said, adding that National Social Service candidates and NCC cadets were also likely to be roped in for such services after the new legislation was brought about, the D-G said.

He added that efforts were being made to upgrade training facilities at the National Civil Defence College and the National Fire Services College, both at Nagpur, and include civil defence education in the curricula of police training institutes all over the nation.

The Union Home Ministry had also recommended to the education ministries in all the states to include civil defence training as part of school education in order to create greater awareness among the general population about the importance of its work, Shukla said.

Apart from imparting training to IAS and IPS candidates in civil defence matters, he said that facilities had also been made to provide training to deputy collectors and deputy superintendents of police in the two civil defence institutes in Nagpur.

He said that the tenth finance commission had sanctioned a sum of Rs 80 crore for upgrading fire services in the country.