Paramilitary personnel now entitled to air travel in Jammu, Srinagar and Delhi sectors, says home ministry

In the aftermath of the deadly attack on CRPF convoy in Pulwama, the Ministry of Home Affairs on Thursday decided to sanction air travel entitlement to all the jawans of Central Armed Paramilitary Forces deployed in Jammu and Kashmir. [caption id=“attachment_4480915” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. News18[/caption] Following the new notification, all the personnel of Central Armed Paramilitary Forces will be entitled to travel by air on government expenditure between Delhi and Jammu/Srinagar and between Jammu and Srinagar. The decision will immediately benefit approximately 7,80,000 personnel of CAPFs in the ranks of constable, head constable and ASIs who were otherwise not eligible for the benefit. This includes the journey on duty and journey on leave, i.e. while going on leave from Jammu and Kashmir to home, or when coming back to join duty. The CAPFs include armed battalions of Assam Rifles (AR), Border Security Force (BSF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), National Security Guard (NSG), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB). Unlike the air force, naval and army commands which fall under the Ministry of Defence, these forces fall under the ambit of home ministry. The decision comes in the wake of a deadly attack on 14 February when a local Jaish-e-Mohammad militant rammed a SUV full of explosives into a CRPF convoy, carrying jawans who were coming back to resume duty. Questions were raised about the security of the convoy, and the tactical intelligence of exposing such a large number of personnel in a militancy-ridden area. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs further pointed out that in Jammu and Kashmir, Air Courier Service for CAPFs jawans was approved for the Jammu-Srinagar-Jammu sector. Subsequently, the service was extended to cover 1) Delhi-Jammu, 2) Jammu-Srinagar, 3) Srinagar-Jammu and 3) Jammu-Delhi sector in December 2017. The number of flights was further extended in December 2018. In addition, air support is provided from Indian Air Force as and when required. With inputs from ANI