NEW DELHI: The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday cleared a proposal for implementation of an umbrella scheme worth Rs 25,060 crore for the modernisation of police forces between 2017-18 and 2019-20.
Of the total allocation, the share of the Centre will be to the tune of Rs 18,636 crore and the states will chip in with Rs 6,424 crore.
The central budget outlay of Rs 10,132 crore has been earmarked for internal security-related expenditure for Jammu & Kashmir, the Northeastern states and Left-wing extremism (LWE)-affected states.
Through the scheme, a Special Central Assistance (SCA) for 35 worst LWE-affected districts has been introduced with an outlay of Rs 3,000 crore to tackle underdevelopment in the districts.
Likewise, an outlay of Rs 100 crore has been earmarked for the Northeast for police infrastructure upgradation, training institutes and investigation facilities among others.
Home minister Rajnath Singh, at a press conference here, said, “This is the biggest-ever internal security scheme in the country. The financial outlay for the scheme over the three-year period is Rs 25,060 crore, of which the central government’s share will be Rs 18,636 crore and the states’ share will be Rs 6,424 crore.”
Special provision has been made under the scheme for internal security, law and order, women’s security, availability of modern weapons, the mobility of police forces, logistics support, hiring of helicopters,
upgradation of police wireless, National Satellite Network, CCTNS project and e-prison project.
“Implementation of the scheme would bolster the government’s ability to address challenges faced in different theatres such as areas affected by LWE, Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast effectively and undertake development interventions which will catalyse in improving the quality of life in these areas and help combat challenges effectively at the same time,” the minister said.
New initiatives have also been incorporated in the scheme to provide assistance to states for upgradation of police infrastructure, forensic science laboratories, institutions and equipment available with them to plug critical gaps in the criminal justice system.
As part of the scheme, police stations across the country will be integrated to set up a national database of crime and criminals’ records.
It will be linked with other pillars of the criminal justice system such as prisons, forensic laboratories and prosecution offices. The umbrella scheme also provides for setting up of a state-of-the-art forensic science laboratory in Amravati, Andhra Pradesh, and upgradation of the Sardar Patel Global Centre for Security, Counter Terrorism and Anti Insurgency in Jaipur and Gujarat Forensic Science University in Gandhinagar.