To boost security at the India Security Press (ISP) and the Currency Note Press (CNP) in Nashik, where stamp paper and currency notes thefts are rampant, the Union Finance and Home ministries have finally decided to deploy the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).About a dozen CISF officials are in Nashik now to study security arrangements at ISP and CNP. They are trying to chalk out security arrangements as well as logistical support for the jawans, who would require barracks, parade grounds, mess facilities and a secure place to store arms and ammunition.Initially, the main gate of the CNP is to be handed over to the CISF jawans, who would also escort consignments of currency notes and security stationery to other parts of the country. Currently, ISP and CNP security is handled by the Departmental Security Organisation (an organisation of former servicemen) while the consignments are escorted by the police.It is learnt that about 350 DSO staff, entrusted with the security, will be phased out gradually. The CISF would be deployed at various sections within the premises of both the installations for internal security. Their deployment has been on the cards since 1993 when currency notes worth Rs 7.5 lakh were stolen from a railway wagon despite local police and DSO staff being deputed to guard the consignment. However, labour unions and the DSO union opposed the move and the proposal was shelved.The latest burglary was of stamp papers worth Rs 84 lakh from the Central Stamps Depot of the ISP last month. The Union Government then proposed to set up a corporation under the Reserve Bank of India to take over printing of currency notes, security stationery (like passports, stamps and stamp paper) and minting of coins under a single umbrella. The move is yet to takeshape.The idea behind the move was that the ISP, CNP (both in Nashik) and Bank Note Press at Dewas (Madhya Pradesh) controlled by the Finance Ministry were over-staffed and under-utilised. The RBI has set up currency printing presses at Salboni (West Bengal) and Mysore. Surprisingly, the daily production of RBI’s presses (which employ about 900 people) is about eight million notes, equivalent to the CNP production (it has 3,000 employees on its rolls).The CNP was modernised in 1995 at the cost of Rs 50 crore but the production dropped from ten million notes to seven million notes per day.The ISP employs about 3,500 people while the CNP has about 3,000 employees on its rolls. In both the installations, unions hold the sway. After overtime wages were curtailed in November 2000, the unions have been in a militant mood.
