NEW DELHI, Jan 28 ? Insurgents fighting the security forces may soon have a tough time, with the Union Government planning to procure 64,000 AK-47 assault rifles. The global tenders for the same has been floated by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
This was revealed by Deputy Prime Minister, L K Advani at the meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee here yesterday. In addition, the MHA is also incurring an expenditure of Rs 647 crore for strengthening the air power of the Central paramilitary forces.
The major modernisation initiative also included procurement of 14 floating border outposts for patrolling the riverine areas in the eastern and north-eastern sector and the creek areas in Gujarat.
Significantly though, when central government is increasing its budgetary allocation for modernisation of forces, Assam government has taken a reverse mode by having nil utilisation of funds for the year 2001-2002.
The Deputy Prime Minister, however, informed that under the modernisation of police forces in the North-east, the MHA has allocated assistance worth Rs 268 crore to the region during the period 1997-1998. The MHA it may be recalled here had adopted the policy of supplying kind in a bid to avoid diversion of funds.