The Hindu : National : Sashastra Seema Bal Bill gets Parliament approval

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Sashastra Seema Bal Bill gets Parliament approval

Special Correspondent

Legal backing for strengthening policing of the borders with Nepal and Bhutan

NEW DELHI: Parliament on Saturday approved a Bill to provide armed forces status to the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and give it legal backing to strengthen policing of borders with Nepal and Bhutan.

The Sashastra Seema Bal Bill 2007, adopted by the Rajya Sabha earlier this week, was passed by the Lok Sabha with Home Minister Shivraj Patil saying it would expand the size and responsibility of the force’s armed combat wing.

Ruling out the possibility of a single command for the SSB, Border Security Force (BSF) and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Mr. Patil said these Central forces were deployed on the borders with different countries and placed in different situations.

The SSB, earlier known as the Special Services Bureau, was set up in 1963 after the Sino-Indian war. It guards the almost 1,800-km-long border with Nepal and another stretch of 700 km with Bhutan. It has 41 battalions.

Observing that policing of this porous border would be strengthened with the proposal to raise 21 more battalions, the Minister said the SSB’s role in promoting a sense of security among the people and performing other duties had necessitated the enactment of a comprehensive legislation.

Considering the new nature of job and purpose of the SSB, he said it was felt that the SSB should be regulated by a separate self-contained statute providing for its special needs of efficiency and discipline.

English name sought

Tapir Gao of the Bharatiya Janata Party said the SSB had been active in Arunachal Pradesh and had played a major role in maintaining national interest in the border areas. He suggested that the force be given an English name also as it could now participate in the U.N. missions abroad.

Maintaining that the Indo-Nepal border had become “more sensitive” than the western border, Nikhil Kumar of the Congress said it was vital to have an effective policing of the border along the Himalayas.

Samajwadi Party member Shailendra Kumar said personnel of the force should be given sophisticated weapons. Preventive measures should be taken to avoid cases of suicide and fratricide among the security personnel, he added.

Ganesh Prasad Singh (RJD) said such a security force had become a necessity in view of largescale movement of Maoists from Nepal to Bihar and other parts of the country.

Biju Janata Dal’s Bharthari Mehtab expressed concern over vacancies in the SSB.

C.K. Chandrappan (Communist Party of India) favoured an English name for the SSB.

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