The Himachal Pradesh government has asked the Central government to reimburse the total expenditure incurred on providing security to the Tibetan government-in-exile at Dharamshala and spiritual guru Karmapa. During the conference of chief ministers held in Delhi today, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal also asked the Centre to provide to the state an additional Rs 12 crore that are being used for deployment of police forces on the inter-state borders.

Five companies of Himachal Police have been deployed in Chamba district along the border of Jammu and Kashmir. Himachal shares a long and porous inter-state border of over 1,100 kilometres with Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana and Uttarakhand. The state also has an international border with China extending over 200 kilometres. While the state is spending Rs 12 crore on deployment of forces in these borders, the Centre is providing an annual assistance of Rs 4 crore only.

Dhumal also reiterated the state government’s demand for introducing photo identity card system for Tibetan refugees and Nepal residents in the state. He said at present, 23,000 Tibetan refugees and 25,000 Nepalese were living in the state and a mechanism was required for their identity check. “The state CID and intelligence department is keeping a strict vigil on their activities and the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of External Affairs should also introduce a mechanism for security checks,” said Dhumal.

He also demanded sanction of a battalion of National Security Guards and 6th Indian Reserve Battalion to strengthen the security infrastructure in the state. The two new Indian Reserve Battalions raised will provide commando training and will be equipped with the latest equipment.

Quick reaction teams have also been constituted in all the districts and bomb disposal squads have been activated. Dhumal suggested that fire-fighting services should be strengthened to cope with multi-hazard situations and requested the Central government to convert them into all hazard emergency units by allocating appropriate funds to perform a major role in relief and rescue operations during exigencies.

Hooda also asks for his share

Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, has asked the Centre for the allocation of Rs 100 crore to the state police and a one-time special grant of Rs 312 crore for strengthening the police infrastructure in the National Capital Region (NCR), expeditious implementation of the crime and criminal tracking network and system (CCTNS) to meet the challenges posed to the internal security.