Proposal to raise special aviation force for airports' security rejected by MHA
New Delhi: The Home Ministry has turned down a proposal mooted by the civil aviation ministry to raise a special aviation force for providing security cover to the airports across the country. The proposed aviation force was to work under the administrative control of the Bureau of Civil Aviation.
The home ministry is of the view that the CISF, currently providing security at all major airports, is competent enough and gradually its deployment on all airports should be enhanced further replacing the local police or any other security agency.
The home ministry will soon conduct a detailed security audit of all airports to ascertain what steps were needed to make the arrangements more foolproof.
“As of now there is no need for a separate special aviation force as the CISF is competent enough to do the job. Instead we will do a detailed audit for all major airports to see if there are any security lapses and how these can be plugged,” a ministry official said.
The decisions were taken at a high-level meeting attended by minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju, minister of state for civil aviation Jayant Sinha, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and other top officials.
The view within the home ministry is that the CISF in fact is already a specialised force as it has been raised with the purpose of guarding vital installations like industrial units, metros and airports.
The CISF, officials added, has been performing well in guarding the airports. The CISF is also working in close co-ordination with the local police, which normally provides the outer security cordon while the central police force looks after the inner cordon and security within the airport premises.
“The CISF has good co-ordination with the local police and Intelligence agencies and there is no need to disturb this arrangement right now,” the official added.
Sources said the security audit for the airports could start in another week and is expected to be completed in about a month’s time following which the home ministry will once again convene a meeting to discuss the report and take corrective measures.
The ministry is also examining the possibility of funding all airport security related expenditure and may reimburse the amount to the respective state governments. It has also planned random checking of incoming air travellers at the entrance of airports.
Standard Operating Procedures (SoP) for random checking of incoming vehicles of air travellers in city side approach, thorough checking of cargo and detection of flying objects and drones are also being drawn.
