Amit Shah chairs Ministry of Home Affairs meeting on coastal security

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday chaired a meeting of the Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Home Affairs on coastal security.

Addressing the meeting, he said that for the first time all the islands of the country have been surveyed and many important decisions are being taken on the basis of reports received in this regard.

"Many ministries and agencies have a role in ensuring coastal security and by establishing mutual coordination amongst them, coastal security will be further strengthened after a meeting with stakeholders very soon under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi," he said.

Noting that, the Ministry has been seriously assessing the challenges being faced in coastal security, he said the suggestions given in the meeting, the appropriate and adequate steps would be taken to make coastal security impenetrable along with the states.

He said that as per the guidelines of PM Modi, the Department of Border Management under the MHA has been working over the last few years in the direction of further strengthening of coastal security and more can be done with suggestions received from all.

The Members of the committee present in the meeting also suggested the formation of a separate Coastal Police Cadre in all the states and monitoring of islands and coastal areas with the help of technology.

During the meeting the issues of proper allocation of budget for all round development of coastal areas and effective operation of Coastal Police Stations were discussed.

The Members also suggested that the proper training of policemen and fishermen from the point of view of safety should be imparted with the use of technology to prevent collisions between ships and fishing boats at sea.

During the meeting, a detailed presentation was made by the Department of Border Management on the steps taken to further strengthen coastal security, in which the completion of Phase-I and Phase-II of the Coastal Security Plan and commencement of Phase-III were discussed.