MHA receives proposals from four paramilitary forces for 53 new battalions’

THe unification ministry of place affairs (MHA) has received proposals from foursome paramilitary unit forces to prove at least 53 new battalions, comprising around 53,000 personnel, a parliamentary committee on home affairs has said in its report.The parliamentary standing committee on home affairs, in its report, said the MHA is considering the proposal to raise 20 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), 12 Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), 16 Border Security Force (BSF) and five Assam Rifles (AR) battalions.The report, tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday by the committee led by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Radha Mohan Das Agarwal, also said that the MHA has approved and raised at least seven battalions of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and three battalions of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) over the last two years.The Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) –– comprising the CRPF, BSF, CISF, SSB, ITBP and AR  –– cumulatively have over one million personnel.“The seven new ITBP battalions have been posted along the frontier with China in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. The three CISF battalions include an all-women battalion, a first for the force,” an officer aware of the details said on anonymity.According to the parliamentary panel’s report, the ministry incurred a cost of ₹3,086.83 crore in raising the 10 battalions.With security set to be intensified in Jammu & Kashmir and other vital installations, there is a need to have more boots on the ground for forces such as CRPF and CISF, the officer said. “There is also a lot of movement along the India-Myanmar border. With the border fence being built, Assam Rifles will require more personnel. The fences will have to be monitored. There will also be gates on the fence to allow people of border villages to reach their homes or villages.”The officer noted that raising a battalion takes time. “There is also the financial angle involved as it costs a lot. The proposals are under consideration,” the officer added.Each CAPF battalion has a sanctioned strength of 1,272 personnel.A second officer said that the Centre will be moving many battalions of different paramilitary forces from areas that were once tagged Left-Wing Extremism (LWE)-affected in the months following the government’s March 31 deadline to eliminate Naxalism.Earlier this month, Chhattisgarh deputy chief minister Vijay Sharma had said that most CAPF battalions are likely to be withdrawn from the Bastar region by March 2027.The second officer, who also asked not to be named, said, “It is not that all battalions will be moved. A sizeable number will stay behind because it will be the early days of a new era when there won’t be any armed Naxal cadres left in the jungle. But, many will be moved to J&K as new threats have evolved. Many from elsewhere (non-LWE areas) have already been moved and are posted in camps across J&K.”Following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, CRPF set up at least 43 company operating bases (COBs) at high altitudes across J&K. The COBs were set up after a security survey identified areas requiring better surveillance. As more personnel move into J&K, more bases will be set up in such areas,said a second officer.