I had written a letter to the Home Secretary, Govt. of India on rotation of CPMF personnel and, in this context, suggested that the airport security duties may be re-distributed among the CPMFs. Copy of the letter is reproduced below; it was endorsed to heads of CPMFs also so that they could pursue the matter from their side.
"One of the biggest problems which the personnel of the Central Paramilitary Forces face is the absence of any rotation to what could be called ¡¥peace stations¡¦. This is particularly true for the personnel of the Border Security Force, Central Reserve Police Force and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police. Its men (and now, perhaps, women also) are moving from one tough assignment to another, and may be from one part of the country to another.
As a former Director General of the BSF, I vividly recall the enormous pressure that used to be there for postings to places like Delhi, Tekanpur (Gwalior) and Bangalore.
With the passage of years, the duties are getting tougher. It is absolutely essential that some openings are found or arrangements made so that the force personnel get rest and are able to recuperate. I have been thinking of this for some time and would take the liberty of placing my suggestions before the Ministry for consideration.
Airport duties provide a good opening. These have been assigned to the Central Industrial Security Force. The decision was rational. However, in retrospect, we have to take cognizance of the fact that this has had an adverse fall out. While CISF has become the most coveted paramilitary outfit, the other forces have become to that extent less attractive. At the examination held to recruit Assistant Commandants, it is invariably seen that the aspirants¡¦ first choice is for the CISF. Allotment to BSF or CRPF is a climb down. It is like officers opting for non-combatant wings in the defence services. Nothing strange about it, but it should be our effort to make the tougher services less unattractive or, if possible, more attractive.
My specific suggestion in this context is that the Airport Security duties should be divided among the BSF, CRPF, ITBP, SSB and the CISF.
The following principles should govern the assignment of security duties at the Airports:
a) Airport duty should be given to a CPMF in the area of its deployment/concentration.
b) Personnel deployed at the airport, particularly at points where they have to interact with passengers, should be well educated.
c) CPMF may, if necessary, draw personnel from different battalions for the purpose.
d) These personnel should be rotated every two years.
The different paramilitary forces could be assigned security of the following airports:
BSF ¡V Delhi, Amritsar, Jammu, Srinagar, Jodhpur, Ahmedabad
CRPF ¡V Kolkata, Guwahati, Bhubaneswar, Raipur, Ranchi, Hyderabad
ITBP ¡V Jorhat, Bagdogra, Dibrugarh, Leh
SSB ¡V Patna, Lucknow
CISF ¡V Remaining airports
The above is by way of illustration only. Once the principle is agreed upon, the details could be worked out.
The proposal may be objected to on the ground that this would amount to splitting the airport security and therefore diluting it. Knowing the nuances of security duties at the airports to the extent I do, I am quite clear that the paramilitary forces would be able to handle security of the airports in their respective areas without any problems. In fact, there could be a healthy spirit of competition among the CPMFs, with each one trying to outdo the other in professional excellence in a common area of deployment.
The proposal, if implemented, will have the following advantages:
„« All the CPMF personnel will get a share of the cake and, with it, the opportunity to rest and recuperate.
„« Other CPMFs would also become attractive.
„« A healthy spirit of competition would enhance the security at the airports.
„« It will reduce the burden on the CISF.
If, for any reason, it is felt that airport security has to be assigned to only one force, I would suggest that we may raise an Airport Security Force. Its personnel should be drawn entirely from the existing paramilitary forces in the ratio of BSF 20%, CRPF 25%, ITBP 15%, SSB 10% and CISF 30%. They should be sent on deputation for two/three years to ASF, which may have a small nucleus of permanent civilian staff.
The suggestion may be given due consideration".
Prakash Singh
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Rotation for CPMF Pers./Airport Security
I am posting an email of Prakash Singh, Ex DG BSF.
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