New Delhi: With an aim to strengthen
security along the Indo-Nepal and Indo-Bhutan borders, the
government today decided to raise 16 more battalions of the
Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) in the next three years.
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) has cleared the
proposal of the home ministry and the battalions will be
raised at an estimated cost of Rs 1,800 crore, official
sources said.
The raising of 16 new battalions, with 16,000 personnel,
for the SSB is the first phase of the proposal, while an equal
number of battalions will be raised in the second phase in the
next six years, raising the strength of the border-guarding
force from current 35 to 67 battalions.
Recruitment, training, identification and procurement of
lands and construction of buildings will take at least three
years, they said.
The SSB guards 1,751 km-long Indo-Nepal and 699 km-long
Indo-Bhutan borders.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, June 17, 2010, 22:38