Govt calls meet on coastal security on June 16 in Mumbai

As India's coastline continues to be vulnerable to terror attacks, the Centre has convened a meeting of chief ministers of all coastal states for strengthening security -- both offshore and onshore.
The meeting, to be held in Mumbai on June 16, will be chaired by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
It will review all aspects of security along the country's 7,517-km coastline, which is dotted with 12 major ports and 187 minor or intermediate ports.
Chief ministers of all states and chief ministers or administrators of Union territories having a coastline have been invited for the meeting.
"We will create better, robust security system on our coastline. Chief ministers of nine coastal states and four UTs will meet in Mumbai on June 16," Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju told reporters here today.

The meeting venue has significance as the metropolis was the target of India's worst terror attack in 2008. Ten terrorists had come from Pakistan through the sea route, killing 166 people.

The central government has been implementing a 'Coastal Security Scheme' since 2005 for strengthening infrastructure for coastal patrolling and surveillance.
Under the scheme, assistance is given to all coastal states -- Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal -- and Union Territories of Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep, Puducherry and Andaman and Nicobar Islands to set up coastal police stations, check posts, outposts and constructing operational barracks and to equip them with high-speed boats, jeeps and motorcycles for mobility on the coast and in close coastal waters.

A lump-sum assistance of Rs 10 lakh per police station is also given for equipment, computers and furniture.
The meeting is expected to focus on the implementation aspects and progress vis-a-vis the entire range of issues relating to maritime/coastal security which, include uniform system for registration for fishing and other vessels, uniform system of issuance of multipurpose national ID cards to fishermen, issuance of identity cards to the population living in the coastal villages, installation of navigational and communication equipments on the fishing vessels.
Several steps were initiated post 26/11 Mumbai terror attack for round-the-clock vigil of eastern and western coasts that have been intensified gradually but threat along the coastline continues to exist, a Home Ministry official said.

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Meanwhile, the Home Minister today reviewed coastal security with officers of his ministry, Inter-State Council Secretariat (ISCS) and Registrar General of India (RGI).
Susheel Kumar, Secretary (Border Management), briefed the meeting on the status of coastal security and measures being taken in that regard.
The Department of Border Management made a detailed presentation about coastal security issues which included coastal policing, patrolling in territorial waters, contiguous zones and exclusive economic zones (EEZs), empowerment of coastal police stations to investigate crimes committed in EEZs, training of coastal police, setting up of Marine Police Training Institute in Gujarat, security of 26 single-point moorings, 12 major ports and non-major ports in the coastal states/UTs.

During the meeting, safety and security of fishermen, issuance of identity cards to them and colour coding of fishing vessels were also reviewed under Phase-I (2005-11) and Phase-II (2011-16) of Coastal Security Scheme with a financial outlay of Rs 1,580 crore.
The Home Minister was also informed about the status of 131 coastal police stations sanctioned under CSS Phase-II, out of which 108 have been operationalised.
The issues of coastal mapping of coastal police stations, local police stations, fishing landing points, ports, customs and immigration check posts on the coastal area map of the states/UTs were also discussed in details.

Matters relating to tracking of vessels/boats and holistic development of 20 islands identified out of a total of 1,382 offshore islands were also discussed, an official statement said.
Naini Jayaseelan, Secretary, ISCS said that during the meetings of zonal councils, some of the coastal states had raised the issues of cards being issued to the fishermen and the card readers used by the coastal police.
Representative of RGI explained that the operational issues were being sorted out and very shortly the time-lines for removing difficulties and the use of cards and the card readers will be finalised.
The Home Minister directed that all the issues related to biometric cards and card readers should be sorted out immediately in consultation with the Indian Coast Guard (ICG), PSUs manufacturing these cards/card readers.

He also directed that a definite time-frame for issuance of the remaining cards to all the fishermen should be fixed.
Singh said the issues relating to coastal security discussed during the Consultative Committee of MHA in Goa and items in this regard pointed out by the Standing Committee of Parliament should be addressed at the earliest and the 'action taken report' be submitted immediately.
He said these issues will be discussed with the coastal states in the June 16 meeting in Mumbai.