Centre Plans Exchange Programme Between CAPF, State Armed Police Personnel To Strengthen Combat, Law And Order Skills

In a unique move that would create sharing of expertise and experience, the government has planned a proposal to depute personnel from state armed police of the states to the Central Armed Police Forces.

Similarly, central para personnel could move to state armed police in the shift that would strengthen the combat and law and order skills between the two important wings.

Sources in Cabinet Secretariat said that the government is at the stage of exploring the possibility of this historic exchange of personnel between Central Armed Police Forces and State Armed Polices.

A meeting of the Committee of Secretaries was chaired by Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba at Cabinet Secretariat recently where in all the Directors General of Central Armed Police Forces were also present. Gauba has asked for a compliance report from Ministry of Home Affairs' Police Division in this regard. The ministry was submit the report early November.

During the meeting, Gauba had also directed to prepare a draft for plan of activities under 'Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat' for Central Armed Police Force. The Centre has planned to promote the spirit of national integration through a deep and structured engagement between all states and Union Territories through a year-long planned engagement between states.

States and Union Territories have armed police wings which act as a mobile armed reserve. There are not involved in investigation but are engaged during public events, unrest, and natural disasters. They are also involved in counter-insurgency when and where required in the state.

The states have different titles for their armed police units. In addition to the general term armed police, various states have named it differently like Armed Constabulary, Provincial Armed Constabulary, Special Armed Police, Pradeshik and State Military Police.

The Central government wants to give these various state armed police forces exposure of counter-insurgency operations, guarding border and other tasks assigned to central paramilitary forces. To do so, the government is working upon modalities where in personnel deployed with state armed police can work with paramilitary forces and vice versa.

As 'police' and 'public order' are state subjects under the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution, the Centre has sought the opinion of the Ministry of Law and Justice whether personnel from state armed police can join central police forces on deputation and vice versa.

The Central Armed Police Force comprise seven forces -- the Assam Rifles, the Border Security Force, the Central Industrial Security Force, the Central Reserve Police Force the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, and the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) - which reports to the MHA.

The total strength of Central Armed Police is 9,14,732 as against sanctioned strength of 9,99,078. The strength of the CRPF is 301,868 against the sanctioned strength of 324,093 while the BSF's strength is 242,418 against 263,905. The CISF's current strength is 143,783 against sanctioned strength of 156,013 and the SSB strength is 81,271 against sanctioned strength of 99,221. The ITBP's strength is 83,173 as against 89,438 and the AR's strength is 62,219 against 66,408.

A senior IPS officer said: "The step will help centre as well as states to adopt best practices with opening to window for state armed police personnel to join paramilitary forces. It will also help in containing terror, insurgency and Maoist activities."

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)