Union home minister Rajnath Singh on Monday carried out a detailed review of the Coastal Security Scheme, where critical issues like coastal policing, patrolling in territorial waters and security for
Union home minister Rajnath Singh on Monday carried out a detailed review of the Coastal Security Scheme, where critical issues like coastal policing, patrolling in territorial waters and security for assets along the coastline were discussed. Coastal security has been a major priority for the government ever since the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks where militants had used the sea route to access the Indian territory.
The Centre has also convened a meeting of chief ministers of all coastal states on June 16 in Mumbai which will be chaired by the home minister. Sources said the meeting will primarily focus on putting in place a foolproof coastal security grid.
The meeting held on Monday, which was also attended by minister of state for home Kiren Rijiu and senior officials of various security agencies, discussed critical issues like coastal policing, patrolling in territorial waters and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), empowerment of coastal police stations to investigate crimes committed in EEZ, training of coastal police, setting up of Marine Police Training Institute in Gujarat and security of 12 major ports and 203 non-major ports in the coastal states/ UTs.
Issues including safety and security of fishermen, issuing cards to them and colour coding of fishing vessels were also reviewed.
Mr Singh was also informed about the status of 131 coastal police stations that were sanctioned under CSS Phase II, out of which 108 coastal security police stations have already been operationlised.
Mapping of coastal mapping of police stations, local police stations, fishing landing points, ports, customs and immigration check posts on the coastal area map of the states/ UTs were also discussed in details.
Matters relating to tracking of vessels, boats and holistic development of 20 islands, identified out of a total of 1,382 offshore islands, were also reviewed.
Ms. Naini Jayaseelan, Secretary, ISCS explained that during the meetings of Zonal Councils, some of the coastal states had raised the issues of cards being issued to the fishermen and the card readers used by the coastal police. The representative of RGI explained that the operational issues were being sorted out and very shortly the time-lines for removing difficulties and the use of cards and the card readers will be finalized.
The Home Minister directed that all the issues related to biometric cards and card readers should be sorted out immediately and that a definite time-frame should be prepared for issuing the remaining cards to all the fishermen should be fixed.
Under the scheme, assistance is given to all coastal states — Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal — and Union Territories of Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep, Puducherry and Andaman and Nicobar Islands to set up coastal police stations, check posts, outposts and constructing operational barracks and to equip them with high-speed boats, jeeps and motorcycles for mobility on the coast and in close coastal waters.
