Choppers for anti-Naxal fight on CCS agenda today

Raghvendra Rao

New Delhi : With differences between the Home Ministry and the Defence Ministry over the Army deployment in anti-Naxal operations still unresolved, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), which meets on Thursday, is likely to limit itself to focusing mainly on the procurement of more helicopters for use in these operations and setting up of a unified command like the ones in J&K and the Northeast.

As per sources, procurement of over two dozen choppers is likely to top the agenda of CCS meeting given the ever-growing realisation that Central Paramilitary Forces needed these to ferry troops to the areas of operation. Officials say having dedicated helicopters at their disposal will give the much-needed edge to security forces in terms of the time taken to reach a given location as well as by saving them from the trouble of travelling through heavily-mined forests. Less than half a dozen choppers are currently being used in the anti-Naxal operations.

Sources say a final call on whether the Army should be deployed in fight against the Naxals is not likely to be taken at least at this CCS meeting. With the Army having already pointed out that its troops cannot be deployed for active operation without implementing the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, sources say the government is likely to leave this discussion for a later day.

Past experience shows the government has not been able to withdraw the Army from a conflict zone even years after it was first sent in. “This fact has to be carefully considered if a final decision to use the Army against the Naxals has to be taken,” says a source. The government is also weighing the “collateral damage” that may occur as a result of roping in the Army to fight the Naxals.