Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister on Thursday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to direct the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for waiving of charges towards deployment of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) in the State.
As per official sources, MHA has asked Odisha to pay Rs 4561.23 crore towards deployment charges of CAPFs up to October 1, 2020.
Though Odisha had earlier requested the Centre in 2015 to reconsider the decision of charging the State government for deployment of Central Forces, the then Union Home Minister through a letter on 25.08.2015 had intimated that there had been no change in the extant policy of the Government as approved earlier by the Cabinet Committee on Security.
As such, all States except the few Special Category States-North-East, J & K and HP, are required to bear full charges for deployment of CAPFs in their States. Further he intimated that due to overall constraint of resources, it was not feasible to exempt the State government from payment of deployment charges, the letter read.
“Left Wing Extremism is a national issue and a grave internal security threat to the integrity of the Nation. This major challenge has to be addressed by both government of India and the State Governments) jointly. Besides, Government of Odisha has been proactive in spending from its scanty resources in creating and deploying security forces even amidst its tight fiscal situation,” the letter read.
In his letter, Naveen wrote, “Around 15 Battalions of State Police have been raised, specifically to combat Left Wing Extremism. 30,000 posts in the Police Cadre have also been created including armed formations along with Specialized Training Centres and other logistic facilities for their deployment.”
Considering the fact that Left Wing Extremism is an issue of joint responsibility, and the State government is doing its lot to combat the menace, the Government of India may appreciate the difficulties of States like Odisha while charging for such deployment of Central Forces for dealing with Left Wing Extremism.
“I would, therefore, request you again to kindly reconsider the matter and direct the Ministry of Home Affairs to waive the amount that has been charged towards deployment of Central Forces in Odisha,” the letter read.