Home Ministry likely to oppose Army’s proposal on ITBP
Leh/New Delhi, July 3 The Home Ministry is likely to oppose a fresh proposal of the Defence Ministry, seeking “operational control” of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) manning over 4,000 km of the country’s boundary with China in three different states. The move comes in the wake of reported differences between Army and ITBP jawans at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) after which the Army moved a fresh proposal for operational control of the paramilitary force in order to have “synergy” among the forces manning the border with China, sources said. While the Home Ministry is officially quiet on the issue, sources said it was of the view that such a move would be detrimental not only to the morale of the jawans of the ITBP, who have been performing their duties in utmost difficult terrain, but will also lead to confusion among the ranks of the paramilitary force. They said at a meeting held recently, the home and external affairs ministries found themselves on the same page and were of the view that this would unnecessarily complicate issues along the LAC with China. The Army had sought operational control of the ITBP because of the aggressive patrolling across the LAC by Chinese troops saying this would help in better border management. The ITBP has nearly four battalions comprising around 4,000 personnel in Leh. The ITBP maintains all its forward posts in higher reaches along the border with China at tri-junction located at a height of 22,420 feet on Mount Gya. The paramilitary force conducts long and short-range patrols to keep an effective vigil on inaccessible and unmanned areas on the border. “While we should be aligning the forces available with the Home Ministry, handing over the control of the ITBP was a far-fetched idea,” a senior Home Ministry official said. — PTI
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