A government statement issued on Saturday quoted Shah as saying that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had instructed the district magistrates to monitor and report on the demographic changes taking place in the border areas, adding that he also directed the formation of security coordination groups in each border area.
Shah, who held a meeting with state government officials, border guarding forces, district magistrates and police chiefs in border areas of Gujarat on Saturday, also mentioned that border district administrations should formulate standard operating procedures to ensure existing infiltrators are identified and drone and drug-related threats are tracked, the statement added.
The statement said that district judges should carefully monitor the demographic changes taking place in the border areas and submit regular reports on them.
“His Majesty the King said that in the border areas, effective implementation of income tax, anti-money laundering and customs laws should fall on the shoulders of the District Magistrate (DM), Superintendent of Police (SP) and Inspector General (IG) of the border area,” the statement said.
She added that the security coordination groups will include the border security forces, the coast guard, the income tax department, the enforcement directorate, and managers of leading banks in the region. This is the first time that such a group of officials from different wings of the government has been created.
Earlier this week, the Home Minister announced the formation of a high-level committee to assess demographic changes across India due to “illegal migration and other unnatural causes” and suggest measures to deal with the issue.
Shah is currently touring the western border along the Indo-Pak border, where he interacts with Border Security Force personnel and chairs security review meetings.
“His Majesty’s visit is likely to arrive in West Bengal on June 15 and continue for a few days… He will visit some areas among the nine districts where fencing work has resumed,” an official familiar with the matter said, adding that he may hold meetings with chief secretaries of West Bengal, Assam and Tripura to discuss efforts to tackle infiltration and identify and counter attempts to change demographics.
The official added that local directors of border areas in Bengal may also be asked to attend the review meeting, which is expected to focus on infiltration, fencing of borders, demographic changes and removal of illegal encroachments at a stretch of 15 km along the international border. Unlike the western border, such encroachments are frequent along the Indo-Bangladesh border on the eastern border. Shah also spoke about removing illegal encroachments at his meeting on Saturday in Gujarat.
Shah said on Friday that the Center is working to completely replace the current concept of border security with a new “regional security” framework that integrates the public, civil administration, local police, army and border guarding forces into a unified security network along India’s borders.
The official said that fencing work along the Indo-Bangladesh border has already resumed in the nine districts of West Bengal, which was stalled for nearly 16 years. Over the past three weeks, the state government has handed over at least 142 acres of land, while another 450 acres are in the works. “After the actual land acquisition, PWDs have started fencing in areas like Darjeeling, Cooch Behar and North 24 Parganas. His Majesty the King can share details of the new smart fencing project during his visit in West Bengal or the new concept of regional security which is part of a quadrangular security network comprising the public, army, civil administration, police and border guarding forces,” the official added.
A government statement said that Shah stressed during his meeting on Saturday the need to continue close monitoring of extremist centers in the border areas. “He directed the district magistrates to carefully monitor demographic changes and report them regularly. Everyone – from the police station to the patwari – must work in unison to ensure deportation of already settled illegal infiltrators. Local administrations must formulate standard operating procedures to address the specific challenges and requirements of each border area, to ensure identification of existing infiltrators and threats related to drones and drugs. Anti-financial crime agencies must remain informed regarding border areas,” a government statement said. That the IT Department and RBI conduct large-scale survey campaigns in the border areas.
