Madhukar Gupta Committee on border protection submits report

Madhukar Gupta Committee on border protection submits report 

The Madhukar Gupta Committee on border protection has submitted its report to the Union Government to strengthen border protection and address vulnerabilities in fencing along the Indo-Pakistan border. It was announced by the Union Minister of State (MoS) for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju in a written reply to question in the Lok Sabha.

 Key Facts

The committee has given broad recommendations on the issues of Threats and Border Protection, assessment of force level, deployment on the border, infrastructure and technology issues for protection of border and administrative issues. The Union Government has decided to initiate action in light of the recommendations of the Committee in consultation with the stakeholders. Background The Committee was constituted under chairmanship of former Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta in April 2016. It was tasked give recommendations for strengthening border protection and addressing the issue of gaps and vulnerability in border fencing along India-Pakistan Border. It was constituted three months after the terror attack on Pathankot IAF base in January 2016 by Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists from Pakistan. These terrorists had infiltrated into India by beaching the India-Pakistan border (through porous border) in Punjab especially from the riverine stretch. Note: Four Indian states share 3,323-km-long border with Pakistan. Of this, 1,225 km falls in Jammu and Kashmir (including Line of Control), 1,037 km in Rajasthan, 553 km in Punjab and 508 km in Gujarat.