Monthly Archives: August 2018

New Delhi, December 25

The government on Wednesday named the strategic tunnel under Rohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh after former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in a tribute to him on his 95th birth anniversary.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the government has fulfilled a long-pending demand to name the tunnel after the former prime minister.

Singh said the construction of the Rs 4,000-crore tunnel would be completed by 2020.

The historic decision to construct the strategic tunnel below the Rohtang Pass was taken in 2000 when Vajpayee was the prime minister.

“The government under the leadership of PM Shri @narendramodi has fulfilled a long pending demand to name the tunnel under Rohtang Pass after Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji as a tribute to the former Prime Minister who took the historic decision of constructing this strategic tunnel,” Singh tweeted.

The decision to name the tunnel after Vajpayee was taken at a Cabinet meeting presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday.

The 8.8-km-long tunnel will be the world’s longest above an altitude of 3,000 metres and will reduce the distance between Manali and Leh by 46 kilometres, according to the defence ministry.

Once thrown open, the tunnel will provide all-weather connectivity to remote border areas of Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh which otherwise remain cut off from the rest of the country for about six months during winters.

“The completion of the tunnel will provide all-weather connectivity to remote areas of Lahaul and Spiti Valley and also reduce the distance between Manali and Leh by 46 km,” the defence minister said.

The project is being implemented by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO).

A defence ministry official said the BRO overcame major challenges due to the difficult terrain and weather in laying the most difficult stretch of 587 metre in the Seri Nullah Fault Zone. PTI

The CDS will not exercise any military command, including over the three services chiefs, so as to be able to provide impartial advice to the political leadership.

Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar in New Delhi, Tuesday. (Photo: PTI)

The Union Cabinet Tuesday approved creation of the post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) as principal military advisor to the government. In line with the landmark announcement made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day speech, this fulfils a long-standing recommendation for higher military reform, recommended by various expert committees and group of ministers, more so after the 1999 Kargil War.

The CDS will not exercise any military command, including over the three services chiefs, so as to be able to provide impartial advice to the political leadership.

The CDS will be a four-star General, at par in military rank, salary and perquisites with the three services chiefs, and will head the newly created Department of Military Affairs in the Ministry of Defence and function as its Secretary.

Making the announcement, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said, “CDS will have all powers of a Secretary-level officer. The files need not go through the Defence Secretary and the CDS will be empowered to send to it directly to the Defence Minister.”

Apart from being the head of the Department of Military Affairs, the CDS will also be the Permanent Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee. He will act as the Principal Military Adviser to the Defence Minister on all tri-services matters. In a clear delineation of roles, the three services chiefs will continue to advise the Minister on matters exclusively concerning their respective services.

The Department of Military Affairs, headed by the CDS, will deal with the armed forces — the Army, Navy and Air Force; works relating to the Army, Navy and Air Force; and procurement exclusive to the services except capital acquisitions. His mandate will also include promoting jointness in procurement, training and staffing for the defence services through joint planning and integration of their requirements; facilitation of restructuring of military commands for optimal utilisation of resources by bringing about jointness in operations, including through establishment of joint/theatre commands; and promoting use of indigenous equipment by the services.

The CDS will administer all the tri-services organisations in the ministry, including those related to cyber and space. He will be member of the Defence Acquisition Council and Defence Planning Committee, besides functioning as the Military Adviser to the Nuclear Command Authority. His task will be to implement Five-Year Defence Capital Acquisition Plan (DCAP), and two-year roll-on Annual Acquisition Plans (AAP), as a follow up of Integrated Capability Development Plan (ICDP), besides assigning inter-services prioritisation to capital acquisition proposal.

The CDS will also bring about reforms in the functioning of three services aimed at augmenting combat capabilities of the Armed Forces by reducing wasteful expenditure, while ensuring optimal utilisation of infrastructure and rationalising it through jointness among the services. He has been given a period of three years to bring about jointness in operation, logistics, transport, training, support services, communications, repairs and maintenance, etc of the three services.

Akash Ghai

Tribune News Service

Mohali, December 23

A total of 81 illegal structures that have come up within the restricted 100 metres around the Air Force station here after the deadline of March 3, 2011, would be razed without any compensation within two weeks.

Using powers of collector under the Works of Defence Act, 1903, Mohali Deputy Commissioner Girish Dayalan issued the orders in this regard today.

Confirming the development, Dayalan said earlier a total of 98 structures were identified, which had come up in the restricted area after March 9, 2011.

“Of the total 98 owners of these structures, 16 owners were able to adduce evidence that their structures were existing prior to the set deadline of March 9, 2011, while one owner gave evidence that his property was not situated in the restricted area of 100 metres around the Air Force station. So now, all 81 structures are raised in contravention of the law, therefore, they are liable to be demolished since their action of raising the same was illegal. I have issued orders to demolish these structures within a period of two weeks,” said Dayalan.

Dayalan added that the demolition order had been issued following the directions of Punjab and Haryana High Court after giving adequate time to the owners to plead their case, and carrying out proper legal procedure. “No compensation for structures will be given to the owners of these buildings rather they might be liable to pay the cost of demolition. If they want compensation for their plots, they can approach the authorities concerned, who will decide on it,” said Dayalan.

The Government of India Notification of January 23, 2010, had imposed restrictions on use, enjoyment of land in the vicinity of the Air Force station, Chandigarh, situated at Mohali and ordered that such land may be kept free of buildings and other constructions.

“Directions are also issued to the SSP, Mohali, to provide adequate force for ensuring the demolitions peacefully in coming days,” said Dayalan.

Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 23

About 35 years after it was raised as a specialist anti-terrorist force, the National Security Guard (NSG) remains without a dedicated range for training snipers, a critical component of any special force.

The revelation of inadequate training infrastructure comes in the backdrop of increasing deployment of NSG teams for operations, with the average requisition last year being four times a month.

According to the data provided by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the annual deployment of NSG teams for immediate backup support was 34 in 2016, 33 in 2017 and 47 in 2018. Detachments of the force are also deployed in Kashmir for undertaking anti-terrorist operations alongside the Army and state police.

“Adequate training infrastructure is available with NSG for special training except a dedicated sniper range. Ad hoc arrangements are in place to undertake sniper firing,” the MHA has stated in a report tabled by Parliament’s Standing Committee on Home Affairs this month.

“A sniper range is proposed in and around Manesar to meet its training requirements,” the report adds.

Given NSG’s mandate of counter-terrorist operations in urban areas, hostage rescue and neutralisation of high-value targets, snipers are a very important element of its strike component.

Snipers are considered force-multiplies and are given a great deal of importance and prominence by special forces the world over. Besides precision shooting, a large part of the sniper’s work involves recce and surveillance and providing feedback to commanders from concealed vantage positions. This requires a very high degree of training and requisite training infrastructure.

Immediate backup support 

• According to the data provided by the MHA, the annual deployment of NSG teams for immediate backup support was 34 in 2016, 33 in 2017 and 47 in 2018
• Snipers are considered force-multiplies and are given a great deal of importance by special forces the world over
• A sniper range is proposed in and around Manesar to meet its training requirements, the MHA report adds

.

New Delhi, December 24

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said performance standards are being set for officers and mechanisms developed for greater prudence in financial management under the Centre’s vision of ‘minimum government and maximum governance’.

He said this in his address at a workshop for integrated finance (IF) advisers, organised by the finance division of the Defence Ministry at the DRDO Bhawan here.

“Under the ‘minimum government, maximum governance’ (vision), government functions are being made more effective and efficient. Performance standards are being set for government officers.

“And in financial management, mechanisms are being adopted for more prudence and accountability,” Singh said.

The minister said finance is the backbone for any family, society, institution or country.

“Defence Accounts deals with one-fourth of the country’s total budget. And, as I said, integrated finance (IF) is considered the backbone of any department or ministry. Any ministry can achieve its objectives only when it can manage budgetary resources without compromising the operational needs,” the minister said.

Singh said that in this direction, the government had also adopted a lot of innovative methods, like increasing focus on the Public Financial Management System, and introduction of Central Public Procurement Portal.

The minister said that in the last three years, the defence ministry had utilised its allocation “very successfully and through substantial delegation of financial powers the trend of non-utilisation of funds has ceased”. PTI