Press Conference by Union Home Minister
Following is the text of the opening statement of Union Home Minister Shri Sushilkumar Shinde at the Monthly Press Conference of the Ministry of Home Affairs here today:-
“The 16th meeting of the National Integration Council (NIC) under the Chairmanship of the Hon’ble Prime Minister was held on 23rd September, 2013 in New Delhi. The issues like communal harmony, safety and security of women and measures to tackle crimes against the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes were discussed in the meeting.
I inaugurated the 33rd Asia and Pacific Conference of Correctional Administrators (APCCA) held from 22-27 September, 2013 in New Delhi. Delegates from 23 member countries and the representatives from States/UTs participated in the Conference. The major theme of the Conference was to exchange views on challenges and initiatives in Prison Administration, induction of organisational culture, meeting the challenges posed by high risk offenders, alternatives to imprisonment etc. The delegates also visited the Tihar Prison on Sept.23, 2013. The deliberations resulted in a number of useful suggestions and ideas which will be further crystallised in next APCCA Conference to be held in Canada in 2014.
On 25th September, 2013, I reviewed the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) situation with the Chief Secretaries; the Directors General of Police of the 9 LWE affected States and the representatives of the CAPFs. The LWE violence level has been declining since 2010. The number of incidents has declined from 2213 (with 1005 resultant deaths) in 2010 to 1415 incidents (with 415 resultant deaths) in 2012. In the current year (upto 30.08.2013), there has been a 27.48% reduction in number of incidents (with 14.10% reduction in resultant deaths) in comparison to the corresponding period of 2012.
On Sept.12, 2013, the Union Home Secretary also discussed issues relating to construction of critical bridges in LWE affected areas with the representatives of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
The Judicial Commission from Pakistan visited Mumbai from 23-25 September, 2013 for cross examination and re-examination of the four prosecution witness in India in respect of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case in Pakistan. The proceeding of the Judicial Commission was held in the Court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Esplanade, Mumbai.
A meeting of all the stake holders in UDAAN, a Special Industry Initiative Schemes for Jammu and Kashmir, was held on Sept.11,2013 to understand the concerns and experiences of the corporate and to design interventions to ensure smooth implementation of the scheme. Shri S. Ramadorai, Chairman, National Skill Development Corporation, the Union Home Secretary, the Principal Secretary, Planning and Development Department, Government of Jammu and Kashmir and over 60 representatives from the corporate sector (both the private and public sector) attended the meeting.
In Manipur, 155 Under Ground cadres {Kuki Revolutionary Front (KRF)-53, Kuki National Liberation Front (KNLF)-50, Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP/Nongdrenkhomba)-44 and Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL)-08} alongwith 134 weapons and ammunition surrendered at the First Manipur Rifles in the district Imphal West on 9th September, 2013.
Tripartite meetings involving the representatives of the Government of India, Government of Assam, Joint Action Committee for Autonomous State (JACAS) and the Koch Rajbongshi and Bodo Group were held from 2-5 September, 2013 to discuss their demands.
A tripartite meeting was held on 12.09.2013 with the representatives of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (Progressive), the Government of Assam and the Ministry of Home Affairs. The functioning of Suspension of Operation (SoO) arrangement and observance of Agreed Ground Rules were reviewed in the meeting and it was agreed to extend the SoO agreement for a further period of three months upto 31st December, 2013.
A Notification, declaring Tirap, Changlang and Longding Districts of Arunachal Pradesh as ‘Disturbed Area” under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 for a further period of six months with effect from 1st October, 2013, was issued on 27th September, 2013.
A Government of Mozambique Delegation led by Mr. Jose Mandra, Deputy Minister of Interior visited the Headquarters of the National Security Guard (NSG), the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Directorate of Forensic Science from 10-12 September, 2013. On 12th September, 2013, a Delegation level meeting between the Government of India Delegation led by Shri Mullappally Ramachandran, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs and the Government of Mozambique Delegation led by Mr. Jose Mandra, Deputy Minister of Interior was held in New Delhi, in which various issues relating to India-Mozambique bilateral security relations/cooperation were discussed.
The first meeting of the Security Commission, chaired by the Union Home Secretary, in respect of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu was held on 12th September, 2013 in New Delhi.
As against the total allocation of Rs.1847 crore under the Scheme for Modernisation of State Police Forces for 2013-14, an amount of Rs.794.59 crore was released to 18 States during the month of September, 2013.
Under the Scheme for “Construction/ Strengthening of Fortified Police Stations” an amount of Rs. 14.30 crore was released to the State Governments of Madhya Pradesh ( Rs.4.70 crore) and Odisha ( Rs. 9.60 crore).
During the month, Rs.7.09 crore were sanctioned to the CAPFs (BSF, CRPF, SSB and IB) for acquisition of 381.04 acres of land and Rs.0.54 crore to CRPF for construction of office/residential buildings.
On 23rd September, 2013, an amount of Rs. 36.96 crore was sanctioned to Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) for implementation of Plan scheme named ‘Training Intervention’.
Rs. 101.29 crore were released to the Coastal States/UTs for construction work of Coastal Police Stations/Jetties etc. during the month of September, 2013.
Under the Crime and Criminal Tracking Netwwork Systems (CCTNS), upto September 2013, contracts for System Integrated (SIs) have been signed in 32 States/ UTs. 12463 out of a total of 16735 CCTNS sites have been completed and 9035 CCTNS sites have been commissioned by BSNL with regard to network connectivity. As part of capacity building under CCTNS, 7.8 lakh training courses have been conducted. Funds to the tune of Rs. 289.78 crores has been utilised out of total released amount of Rs. 493.91 crores.
Integrated Online Visa Application System along with Biometrics (C-Visa) under the Immigration Visa and Foreigners Registration and Tracking (IVFRT) was operationalized in the Indian Mission at Ramallah, Palestine. This facility is now operational at 126 Indian Missions abroad.
The law and order situation in Andhra Pradesh, in the context of Telangana agitation, was reviewed and the deployment of additional 45 Companies of CAPFs was extended upto 11.10.2013. Additional 30 Companies have also been deployed from 4.10.2013 to 11.10.2013.
The situation in Uttar Pradesh was constantly reviewed in the context of communal violence in some parts of the State. On the request of Government of Uttar Pradesh, it has been decided to extend the deployment of 78 Companies of CAPFs for law and order duties till 16th October, 2013.
8th Meeting of National Committee on Strengthening Maritime and Coastal Security (NCSMCS) against threats from the sea was held under the Chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary on 6th September, 2013.
The first Meeting of Steering Committee to review the Coastal Security was held on 26th September, 2013, under the Chairmanship of Secretary (BM) in New Delhi.
The first Steering Committee Meeting on Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) was held on 19th September 2013 under the Chairmanship of Secretary (BM). An Inter Ministerial delegation led by Secretary (BM) also visited ICPs at Agartala (Tripura) and Petrapole (West Bengal) from 11-13 September, 2013.
On the 20th September 2013, the National Communal Harmony Awards for the year 2011 was conferred jointly on Shri Khamliana, and Shri (Md.) Abdul Bari in the Individual Category and on the Foundation for Amity and National Solidarity for the year 2012 in the Organization Category.
The Registration (Kerala Amendment) Bill, 2009, the Indian Partnership (Tamil Nadu Amendment) Bill, 2013, the Indian Stamp (Tamil Nadu Amendment) Bill, 2012, the Indian Stamp (Tamil Nadu Third Amendment) Bill, 2012, the Uttarakhand Lokayukta Bill, 2011, the Revenue Recovery (Uttaranchal Amendment) Bill, 2006, the Gujarat Co-operative Societies ( Second Amendment) Bill, 2013, the Andhra Pradesh (Andhra Area) Inams (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari) (Amendment) Bill, 2012, the Annamalai University Bill, 2013 were assented to by the President of India during the month of September, 2013.
On 4th September, 2013 a meeting was held in New Delhi between Government of India Delegation led by Additional Secretary (NM) and the Government of USA Delegation led by Mr. Stu Frome, Deputy Assistant Secretary. In the meeting, the progress on various action points on bilateral security issues between India and USA were discussed.
During the period from 21.08.2013 to 20.09.2013, the Narcotics Control Bureau seized 138.6 Kg of pseudo- ephedrine tablets and 1,05,136 loose tablets of pseudo- ephedrine, 47.036 kg of heroin, 30 kg of pseudo- ephedrine powder, 27.8 kg of methaqualone, 5.325 kg of Dextro-propoxyphene, 150 gms of opium and 50 gms of morphine. Besides, 21650 bottles of phensedyl, 1244.5 kg of Cannabis herb and 19,82,952 capsules of Spasmoproxyvon/ Spasmocip were also seized. During the period, 29 persons, including four foreigners (Zimbabwe-1, Cameroon-1 and Nigeria-2), were arrested for their involvement in drug trafficking. The combined conservative cost of the seized drug was about Rs. 17.21 crore.
The data entry in respect of the National Population Register has been completed for more than 117.69 crore persons. The capture of biometrics, using UIDAI enrolment software has been done for more than 18.7 crore persons, adding 0.9 crore persons during the month.”
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KSD/ Samir/ sk