Centre seeks to plug holes in coastal security

NEW DELHI: With the Mumbai terror attacks exposing the glaring loopholes in coastal security, the Manmohan Singh government on Monday held a high-level meeting to address the concerns on the issue.

The meeting is part of the ongoing drive to plug the loopholes in coastal policing, which has come across as a weak link in the security cover being put in place to ward off terror threat and other illegal activities from across the borders.

The meeting, which was attended by national security adviser M K Narayanan, union home secretary Madhukar Gupta, BSF DG M L Kumawat and representatives from the Navy and the Coast Guard, had a detailed discussion on the situation along India���s long coastline and the steps being taken to beef up security.

���The home ministry reviewed the coordination among central security agencies, state police, the Navy and the Coast Guard. The meeting had a threadbare discussion about the security requirements, including fast-moving vessels and sophisticated naval equipment to protect Indian waters,������ a ministry official said.

Even though India has a rather long coastline, little has been done to secure it against possible terror attacks or other illegal activities.

While shortage of personnel remains a problem, there is also an acute paucity of modern boats, equipment and gadgets. Multiplication of agencies aimed at protecting the shores also has emerged a big problem.

Against this backdrop, the 26/11 attack forced the government to wake up to the threat from the seas. It has now been constrained to accord top priority for coastal security considering the vulnerability of the 7,516 km-long Indian coastline.

The Centre is also trying to expedite the implementation of the coastal security scheme, which has been in force since 2005-06, but has failed to take a proper shape due to red tape. The scheme had been launched over two years ago by the home ministry, which had sanctioned 73 police stations in nine coastal states and four union territories as part of the project.

The meeting is the latest in the long series of such gatherings held to address the security concerns. Immediately after the attack, when terrorists used the sea route to strike at the western metropolis, the government pressed into action, okaying a host of measures, including acquisition of ships, installation of radars and setting up of new coast guard stations, to strengthen security of coastal areas.

At another high-level meeting, chaired by defence minister A K Antony, earlier this month, several proposals had been cleared to improve the security along the country���s coastline.

To augment the Coast Guard���s surveillance capabilities, the government had also approved acquisition of hi-tech equipment. ���The defence minister cleared the proposal for global acquisition of cutting-edge equipment and interceptor boats on a fast-track basis, so that arrangements for increasing security of Indian waters can be done as early as possible,��� the officials said. The Coast Guard, which have a fleet of 70 small and big vessels, was also allowed to lease and hire ships from the global market, they said.

It was also decided during the meeting to set up nine coast guard stations in addition to the existing 13 for better coverage of the country���s 7,500 km-long coastline. ���The government decided to set up nine more Coast Guard stations and will soon send a proposal to the Cabinet for its approval,��� the officials said.

In the meeting, attended by defence secretary Vijay Singh, director general of Coast Guard vice admiral Anil Chopra and director general (acquisition) Shashi Kant Sharma, the government also decided to deploy additional aircraft in the region, they said.