PM-CMs Aug 17 meet to talk anti-terror readiness

NEW DELHI: Nine months into the security revamp initiated in the wake of the 26/11 jehadi strikes in Mumbai, the counter-terror preparedness of the states will come up for a detailed review at the meeting of chief ministers on internal security convened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here on August 17.

The Centre is expected to take stock of all the measures, agreed to by the states in the wake of the Mumbai attacks, as part of the larger strategy to strengthen the nation���s anti-terror machinery. These include setting up a quick reaction teams (QRTs) in each of the key police stations; implementation of the coastal security scheme, particularly the effective utilisation of the intercepter boats delivered so far; undertaking mock drill exercises; and strengthening special branches of the state police and ensuring their connectivity with the subsidiary MACs.

���The August 17 meeting is basically a stock-taking exercise to review the operationalisation of the decisions agreed to at the last interaction of the chief ministers in January (to enhance states��� preparedness against terror acts),��� a senior MHA official told ET.

Coastal security being a prime concern of the Central agencies, the focus of the August 17 meeting would be on effective deployment of the intercepter boats delivered to the states for better patrolling of the shoreline by the coastal police. The operationalisation of the marine police stations by deploying the required manpower and equipment will be discussed by the Centre, with particular emphasis on under-performing states like Kerala and West Bengal.���

As regards an earlier decision agreed to by the Centre and the states for constituting QRTs for all key police stations and vulnerable districts, the August 17 meeting will take stock of how the state governments have implemented the proposal so as to ensure the operationalisation of QRTs in the most effective manner.

Police reforms would be a key area that the Centre will take up with the state CEOs. This would include filling up of vacancies in the state police to improve the police-public ratio, proper implementation of action plans prepared by select states for strengthening their special branches, better training of the police and stock-taking of their arms and ammunition so as to rule out any shortfall.

The CMs��� conference will be followed by a dedicated brainstorming session between the central brass and the chief ministers of seven Naxal-hit states of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal. This is aimed at getting a realistic assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of anti-Naxal set-up in each of the seven states, so as to pinpoint the areas where the Centre can pitch in for improved security infrastructure.

The Naxal-hit states are also likely to be consulted on the quantum of state police forces that can be spared for the upcoming anti-Maoist offensive and on ways to enhance coordination between the Central and state forces fighting the Left wing extremists.