Government to raise aviation security force

Government to raise aviation security force
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

NEW DELHI, JAN 19: Government has decided to raise an aviation security force and deploy commandos on flights operating on 37 sensitive domestic and international routes, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Chaman Lal Gupta said on Wednesday.

Gupta, who is incharge of aviation security, said in an interview to PTI that the 37 routes had been selected in consultation with the Union Home Ministry.

The government was also considering deployment of Rapid Action Force at every airport and they had in fact been already deployed at some of the major airprots in the country, he said.

Gupta said depending upon the size of the aircraft two to six commandos of National Security Guard (NSG) had been deployed on the identified sensitive routes.

Training crew members of Air-India and India Airlines in security operations was also under consideration for better coordination with the commandos, he said.

The minister said the civil aviation security force would need 20,000 to 25,000 personnel. To start with itwould draw upon paramilitary forces like CRPF and BSF and later make its own recruitment, he added.

He said about Rs 500 crore would be needed for raising this force and if no allocation was made for this, the ministry would raise the resources on its own.

Gupta said that in 1993 also a proposal had been mooted for raising a similar force but no final decision could be taken because of the expenditure involved.