Recruitment: Army flays delay in police verification

The Indian Army on Friday complained of delay in police verification of prospective army recruits in the state saying that it would have ‘disastrous’ results on the recruitment. 

  Proper verification was essential to keep out ‘undesirable and anti-national’ elements from the Armed Forces, Lieutenant General V K Pillai, General-Officer-Commanding, Andhra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka Area (ATNK&K) told Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and other top state officers here at a civil-military liaison conference.  “The Army picks around 2,000 candidates every year. It is important to verify their antecedents to prevent undesirable and anti-national elements from getting into the Armed Forces. There is need for a fool-proof mechanism,” he said.   Rehabilitation of retd and disabled personnel and education of children of the personnel are issues that have become major concerns for the Army.  In these areas, the army is able to do little, but the state govt can play a big role, he said.

Land Woes

 Majority of the issues the Armed Forces raised at the conference revolved around the availability of land. Many of the ECHS polyclinics proposed by the Army in the state are delayed due to scarcity of land. In another instance, the DTPC, Kannur, had encroached upon 65 cents of Defence land at Payyambalam, army officials said.   CM Oommen Chandy, who inaugurated the conference, said that the State Government was fully receptive to the needs of the Army. He asked the Army officials to prepare a list of land-related projects and submit it to the government.  Chief secretary K Jayakumar; Major General K S Venugopal, General-Officer-Commanding, Kerala and Karnataka Sub-Area, officials of Army, Navy, Air Force and State Govt were present.

‘No Major Inputs About Maoist Activities in State’

The State Govt has not received any ‘major inputs’ regarding Maoist activities in the state but there were some reports pointing to Maoist influence on Kerala-Tamil Nadu border areas, DGP K S Balasubramanian said.  He said the IRB  will be camping in these areas on a continuous basis.