Centre to raise 300 battalions to meet manpower shortage

Bangalore, June 8 (UNI) Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil today announced that it was proposed to raise 300 battalions for induction into the Central forces.

Speaking at the valedictory of the 37th All India Police Science Congress here, he said forming of additional battalions for the Central forces, including the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), was aimed at augmenting the shortage of manpower faced at present.

Besides, the state governments had also been allowed to raise 60-70 Indian Royal (IR) battalions to overcome the shortage of manpower in the respective states, he added.

Mr Patil said the Centre would bear the expenditure for raising the IR initially and the respective state governments should meet the recurring expenditure at the later stages.

Stressing the need for modernisation of the police force in the country, Mr Patil lamented that some state governments were not utilising the funds provided for modernisations. ''There is no dearth of funds for modernisation, but additional funds will be released only if the states utilise the funds already provided,'' he added.

Asked about the naxalite menace, he said the Centre had taken concrete steps to curb naxalite activities. In naxalite-infested Chattisgarha and Jharkhand, 36 battalions had been raised to tackle the ultras. These States were also provided with helicopters and modern equipment.

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