Special committee in MHA to monitor use of modernisation funds by paramilitary forces

Vijay Mohan

Advertisement

Chandigarh, December 13

The Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) are now required to submit a monthly progress report to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on the utilisation of modernisation funds to ensure optimal use of the taxpayers’ money.

A high-level committee has been set up in the Police Modernisation (PM) division of MHA which will monitor the reports on a quarterly basis. The committee is chaired by the Joint Secretary (PM) and has the Inspectors General (Provisioning) of all CAPFs and Director (Finance) in the MHA as members.

“For proper monitoring of the progress of Modernisation Plan-IV for the optimum utilisation of funds, detailed scheme guidelines have been issued on May 25, 2022. In the scheme guidelines, a monitoring framework has been prepared which stipulates that the PM Division will carry out detailed review of progress of Modernization Plan-IV on quarterly basis. CAPFs would provide a monthly progress report to the PM division by 5th of every month,” states an action taken report on the demands for grants (2022-23) of the MHA laid in Parliament by the Standing Committee on Home Affairs on Tuesday.

The first review of fund utilisation status in CAPFs under Modernization Plan-IV was done on August 25, according to the report. A Management Information System (MIS) would also be developed to monitor activities of this plan.

The Modernisation Plan-IV for CAPFs, which is in continuation of the Modernisation Plan-III, has a duration from February 2022 to March 2026, with a total financial outlay of Rs 1,523 crore. It is aimed at improving the overall operational efficiency and preparedness of these forces to address the challenges being faced on the borders as well as in different theatres affected by left-wing extremism, terrorism, insurgency and communal unrest.

The CAPFs include the Border Security Force, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and Sashastra Seema Bal, which are the border guarding organisations, the Central Reserve Police Force and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which are meant for internal security duties, the Assam Rifles (AR), a paramilitary force that has a dual responsibility of guarding the border with Myanmar and internal security duties in the northeast, and the National Security Guard, which is a specialist counter-terrorism force. The combined strength of all CAPFs is about 10 lakh personnel.

These forces function under the administrative control of the MHA, which is responsible for their annual budget and provisioning of grants for modernisation or other special purposes as required.

In an earlier report, the committee on Home Affairs had pointed out under-utilisation of funds by over 50 per cent by the CISF and the AR under the Modernisation Plan-III. The committee had recommended that MHA should closely monitor the progress of Modernisation Plan-IV and review the remedial measures at regular intervals to make necessary changes to it, as and when required, so that the funds for the purpose are optimally utilised.

In its report of Tuesday, the committee observed that CISF and AR are having better plans for optimum utilisation of funds under this scheme. “CISF and AR explained their respective action plan for FY 2022-23 for procurement of all items approved under this scheme and assured to utilise the allocated funds by the end of this financial year,” states the report.