Putting an end to weeks of speculation, the government has decided not to use the Army in the fight against Naxalites. Instead, the plan now is to rope in ex-servicemen on contract basis and use them for specific jobs, like de-mining, in security operations being conducted in Naxal-hit areas.
The call on not involving the Army in anti-Naxal operations was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) which met on Thursday. Sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)
said that the government was more keen to utilise the experience of ex-servicemen, since they are no longer an active part of the Army, against the Naxals.
To begin with, the government plans to hire ex-servicemen on contract basis for three years for specific roles. Former Sappers, for instance, could be roped in for de-mining works, sources said.
The next meeting of the CCS, sources said, will take up matters relating to equipping state police forces and Central paramilitary forces with all they require to fight the Naxals.
No comments:
Post a Comment