Ex-servicemen to help CISF secure sensitive installations

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) that secures airports and other sensitive government installations in the country will soon have to induct ex-servicemen, who will assist the paramilitary force on a contractual basis

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) that secures airports and other sensitive government installations in the country will soon have to induct ex-servicemen, who will assist the paramilitary force on a contractual basis.

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The appointments are being made on an experimental basis, on the directions of the ministry of home affairs, officials in the know of the matter said. To start with, 2,000 ex-forces personnel will be posted at 13 PSUs (public sector undertakings) across the country, including thermal power plants and coal fields.

An order, dated February 5, 2021, issued from the office of the director-general of the CISF, said the ministry of home affairs has directed the deployment of ex-servicemen in the CISF in the ratio of 75:25 (75% CISF staff and 25% contractual staff) at selected units by engaging 2,000 ex-forces personnel in different posts on an experimental basis.

The order, seen by HT, mentions 13 PSUs at which these veterans are to be posted. The locations include South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL) in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh; Anpara thermal power plant in Uttar Pradesh; Oil and Natural Gas Corporation in Nazira, Assam; and Raichur Thermal Power Station in Karnataka. So far, none of the 13 selected locations is in Delhi.

Deputy inspector general (operations) Anil Kumar Pandey said these personnel will be used for “non-core” duties.“They will be unarmed and assist our men. They will be deployed at places that are not sensitive from the security point of view,” Pandey said.

However, an officer who is not authorized to speak to the media, said the appointments of ex-servicemen will be done on four posts – constable, head constable, assistant sub inspector and sub-inspector. Only those below the age of 50 years will be considered for appointment, based on their fitness, and provided they match the physical requirement, the officer said.

“For the post of sub-inspector, ex-servicemen who have served in the rank of subedar or above will be considered. Similarly, naib subedar and above will be considered for the post of assistant sub-inspector and havildar and above will be eligible for the post of head constable. Sepoys will be considered for constables,” the officer said.