To add more teeth to counter-insurgency operations in Assam, the Unified Command of the police, paramilitary and army has been restructured on the lines of Jammu and Kashmir’s with the Chief Minister replacing the Chief Secretary as the chairman.

A high-level review meeting attended by top officials from the ministries of home, defence, sports, railways and the state government discussed measures to improve coordination among the security forces and fine-tune operations against the ULFA.

Later, Home Secretary V K Duggal said the change in the Unified Command was due to the “sensitivities” and “larger issues” involved. Denying that there has been an exodus of Hindi-speaking labourers from the state, he pointed out that the situation in the state was under control with a majority of the labourers shifting out of the security camps.

Reiterating the Centre’s policy of holding talks with insurgent organisations that refrain from violence, he said both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister Shivraj Patil would tour the affected districts of Assam.

With the National Games scheduled early next month, the meeting decided on a two-tier security for the venue. While the police and paramilitary would be deployed at the inner ring, the army will be tasked with securing the surrounding domain that would essentially mean the hilly areas bordering Meghalaya.

It was also decided to set up an inter-ministerial facilitation committee for the Games. The Home Ministry has been asked to sanction funds for the scheme under security related expenditure. The army has also been directed to intensify Operation Rhino and focus on plugging the escape route of militants to Myanmar through Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.