Orissa seeks paramilitary forces to counter insurgency

Bhubaneswar, Jun 16 (UNI) Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has urged Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil to depute 400 personnel of Central Para-military Forces to counter insurgency and anti-naxalite operations in the state.

The para military forces, Mr Patnaik said, would strengthen the Special Operations Group (SOG), exclusively raised in the state to combat the Naxalite menace.

Mr Patnaik, who met the Union Home Minister during his visit in New Delhi, also requested the latter to increase the scale of reimbursement under Security Related Expenditure (SRE) to Rs 20 crore to continue with anti-Naxalite operation in the state.

The Union Home Minister, official sources here today said, had assured timely release of fund to the state.

Mr Patil also accepted the proposal of the Chief Minister for establishing a Counter-Insurgency Battalion for Resolute Action (COBRA) in Orissa and requested the Chief Minister to provide land for its establishment.

The Chief Minister during his visit urged the Union Home Minister to wave the deployment charges of the CRPF in the state on the ground that the forces were mobilised to deal with inter-state problems like anti-Naxalite operation.

The Centre had asked the Orissa Government to pay Rs 71.59 crore to reimburse the cost of deployment of CRPF in the state. The Union Home Minister had agreed to consider the demand of the state favourably.

During the meeting, Mr Patnaik apprised Mr Patil of a project proposal of Rs 311 crore for the second phase of prison reform pending with the Home Ministry and requested the Home Minister for immediate sanction of Rs 25 crore on adhoc basis to continue with the reforms initiative to which the Home Minister agreed.

UNI DP SJC DB1835