New Delhi, Aug 1 (IANS) The government has approved raising of 13 new Specialised India Reserve Battalions (SIRBs), a central armed police force, with engineering components for deployment in the Maoist-affected areas to execute development works, Home Minister P. Chidambaram said Monday.
The cabinet committee on security, headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, had on July 13 given the nod for raising 10 of these battalions and converting three yet-to-be-raised-but-sanctioned battalions into the SIRBs, Chidambaram said at his monthly home ministry report card presentation here.
‘These SIRBs, having both security and engineering components, are being raised to execute the development works along with anti-Naxal operations in the Naxal-affected areas,’ he said.
The government has identified 60-odd districts of the country spread across nine states to be affected by Left-wing extremism and its paramilitary and central police forces are engaged in operations to fight the Maoists in these districts.
Government-sponsored development works in these areas have been under attack by Maoists.
