The 2014-15 Budget allocation proposed for internal security has registered a sharp increase in the current fiscal, which reflects the priorities of the Narendra Modi-led government’s policy as stressed in the President’s address to the joint session of Parliament last month.
The most significant proposal has been under the head of border management, with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley proposing to allocate Rs. 500 crore, a hike by five times, for barbed wire fencing along the Indo-Bangladesh border. The allocation for road construction along the border has also been hiked by over 15 per cent.
In his address, President Pranab Mukherjee promised “special emphasis” on improving intra-region connectivity and border infrastructure in the Northeast as well as in Jammu and Kashmir. The issue of infiltration and undocumented migration in the Northeast region would be tackled on priority basis and all pending fencing work along the Northeast border would be completed.
In keeping with this assurance, the government has proposed to allocate Rs. 300 crore for works along the sensitive Indo-Pakistan border, an increase of more than three times, and effected an almost 75 per cent increase in the allocation for the India-China border works.
A three-fold increase, albeit from a modest Rs. 5 crore, has been proposed for the Indo-Myanmar border works while for the first time an allocation has been made for the Indo-Bhutan border although it is Rs.10 crore. But the allocation for the Indo-Nepal border works has fallen by one-third to Rs. 500 crore.
Coastal security has been invigorated with the allocation more than doubling to Rs. 150 crore. The expenditure on border out-posts has also gone up by nearly Rs.100 crore to Rs. 287.70 crore. This apart, a sum of Rs. 300 crore has been set aside for border area development programmes.
The government, which through the President’s speech, had declared its intention to “maintain utmost vigil in the area of internal security and a policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism, extremism, riots and crime” has doubled the allocation to the Land Port Authority to put in place systems which address security imperatives along the international borders.
Allocation for the other arms for maintaining internal security, such as the Intelligence Bureau, the Border Security Force and the Central Reserve Police Force, has also been increased apparently to nullify the impact of inflation. While the allocation for the National Intelligence Grid has more than doubled to Rs. 29.97 crore, the Special Protection Group – which provides security to the Prime Minister, former Prime Ministers and their immediate families – has been given Rs. 408.98 crore.
