Govt to raise aviation security force

The government was also considering deployment of Rapid Action Force at every airport and they had in fact been already deployed at some of the major airprots in the country, he said.

Gupta said depending upon the size of the aircraft two to six commandos of National Security Guard (NSG) had been deployed on the identified sensitive routes.

Training crew members of Air-India and India Airlines in security operations was also under consideration for better coordination with the commandos, he said.

The minister said the civil aviation security force would need 20,000 to 25,000 personnel. To start with it would draw upon paramilitary forces like CRPF and BSF and later make its own recruitment, he added.

He said about Rs 500 crore would be needed for raising this force and if no allocation was made for this, the ministry would raise the resources on its own.

Gupta said that in 1993 also a proposal had been mooted for raising a similar force but no final decision could be taken because of the expenditure involved.

Gupta said a three-tier security check had been introduced at airports for checking passengers while entering the airport, before entrance into security zone and finally before boarding a flight.

The ministry was also considering cancelling at least 50 per cent of passes issued to VIPs for driving up to the tarmac, he said.

A proposal was also under consideration to set up a unified command at airports for security force, Customs, immigration and other such agencies under a director who should be of the rank of Joint Secretary, Gupta said.Arrangements were being made to ensure that the door of cockpit could not be opened from outside in the course of a flight to bar access to hijackers, the minister said.

Gupta said that removal of unauthorised construction including jhuggis from near airports had been suggested by some states and considering the information that these could be used for sending human bomb, the centre was writing to the state governments for taking necessary steps, he added.