Building Security, Command & Control, Policy & Planning, Transport Security

‘Private sector not a priority’ for Indian security forces

By Jianggan Li | 11 March 2009

Although a recent amendment to the Act of India’s Central Industrial Security Force provides security to private installations, Niraj Ranjan Das, its Director General, said that the private sector, including hotels, is not on the force’s list of priorities.

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“We already have received requisition from around 51 private companies seeking security cover and we are assessing their need,” he revealed.

While accepting that there was indeed a need to provide professional security cover to private sector organisations, Das said the first priority would be the oil, IT and power sectors besides airports and seaports. “The second priority would be given to industries located in militancy-affected areas and then come industries with heavy investments.”

Das made the above comments on the occasion of CISF’s 40h Raising Day ceremony. He also stressed that the force would strengthen the security across the country’s airports.

That includes making provisions for concourse security — an elaborate security check at the first entry point to the airport. “We are planning to check passengers and their baggage at the airport gate itself after incidents where bullet shells were recovered from inside the airport premises. We have plans to have a thorough security check at the first entry gate itself to avoid any untoward incident,” Das said.

Currently, only Srinagar Airport, located in the turbulent state of Kashmir, has a concourse plan, with passengers thoroughly frisked before entering the airport itself.

Senior officials still dispute whether such a plan can be implemented at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. “In India, only the security hold plan works, as the concourse plan would lead to traffic congestion,” MS Bali, Additional Director General, Airport Security, said.

In the security hold checking plan, passengers and their baggage are thoroughly checked only upon entry into the security hold area, and not at the first entry point into the airport.

Modalities of such the concourse plan are being worked out by the CISF.