New Delhi: The Union Government has reimbursed Rs 458.92 crore to Odisha under Security Related Expenditure (SRE) scheme during the period 2005-06 to 2020-21.
However, all the dues have not been cleared so far, State officials said.
Replying to a question of BJD MP Pramila Bisoyi, Union MoS for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai informed this in Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
“Reimbursement under the Security Related Expenditure (SRE) Scheme is of recurring and continuous nature. The reimbursement of claims under the SRE Scheme is done for admissible items on the basis of verification of records of the claims by the Internal Audit Wing of the Ministry of Home Affairs and approval of the SRE Standing Committee,” Rai said.
Giving reply to a query of another BJD Parliamentarian Mahesh Sahoo said the Internal Audit Wing (IAW) of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has audited all the claims, produced by the Odisha State, up to September, 2020.
Based on the audited claims/approved annual work plans/approval of SRE Standing Committee, Rs 182.01 crore has been released to the State in last five years in terms of scheme guidelines.
The Ministry has given Rs 16.56 crore in 2016-17, Rs 125 crore in 2017-18, Rs 12.72 crore in 2018-19, Rs 12.81 crore in 2019-20 and Rs 14.10 crore in 2020-21.
At present, Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter and Border Security Force (BSF) helicopter and wet leased helicopter are deployed to support the Security Forces in left wing extremism (LWE) affected states. These helicopters are available for use as per the operational requirements in all the LWE affected states, including Odisha, the Union Minister said.
A large number of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) battalions are already deployed in Odisha to combat LWE.
The deployment of CAPFs, including CoBRA Battalions, in LWE affected States is a dynamic process based on the situation, availability of forces and other ground realities, Rai said.
As National Policy and Action Plan-2015 envisaged several security related measures, development interventions, and other related measures to assist the LWE affected States in their fight against the LWE, the Centre provides funds under various schemes, like Security Related Expenditure (SRE) scheme, Special Infrastructure Scheme (SIS).
The SIS is being implemented in LWE affected States, including Odisha for enhancing capacity of Special Forces and Intelligence wings of the State police forces along with construction of 250 Fortified Police Stations (FPS).
The Scheme, initially approved for the period 2017-18 to 2019-20, has been extended till 2020-21. The extension of the Scheme is currently under consideration, he added.
With the massive improvement in situation in LWE affected areas, the Centre has excluded several districts from its Security Related Expenditure (SRE) Scheme.
Now, only 10 districts have been covered under the SRE Scheme of the MHA. The districts are—Bargarh, Bolangir, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Nuapada, Rayagada and Sundergarh. Earlier, 19 districts have been covered under the scheme, sources said.
Out of 10 districts, only three –Kandhamal, Malkangiri and Kalahandi– have been categorized as most affected LWE districts while Koraput has been categorized as districts of concern by the MHA.