After the hijacking of Indian Airlines flight IC-814 in 1999, the then NDA-government under Atal Bihari Vajpayee cleared a proposal moved by the Union home ministry to hand over airport security to a central armed police force, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).
The present National Security Advisor Ajit Doval was at the helm of affairs in the intelligence bureau at that time and was among the chief negotiators tasked by the government to handle the hostage crisis.
It was during this period that for the first time in the year 2000, the CISF was given the task of handling airport security. The first airport taken over by CISF for security was Jaipur and today there are 59 airports out of a total of 98 operational airports where the CISF is deployed to handle airport security.
The rest of the airports are still with the state police or India Reserve Battalions. The most sensitive Srinagar airport is with the CRPF keeping in mind the high terror threat.
After 18 years, the home ministry has again moved a proposal asking the cabinet committee on security (CCS) under Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hand over all 98 airports to the CISF .
Drawing from his experience of the Kandahar episode, it is learnt that National Security Advisor Ajit Doval is positively inclined to such a move. It is reliably learnt that the top security brass is of the opinion that a dedicated force for airport security is the need of the hour, especially when several attacks have happened at airports worldwide like the recent one in Brussels. The deadly terror attack at the Brussels airport in March 2016 raised concern over safety and security of airports worldwide.
The MHA has moved a detailed note before the CCS for its approval saying that the CISF should be given the task to handle airport security across the country since the CISF is trained and specialised in anti-terror operations at airports, with fully trained Quick Reaction Teams (QRTs) that can respond in the shortest possible time in the face of a threat at airports. A dedicated airport security force will also mean faster exchange of intelligence inputs as information will be flowing within CISF's own turf leading to better coordination and reaction time.
“Many countries like the US are following the concept of having one airport security force. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is an agency under the US Department of Homeland Security which handles airport security and is trained in anti-hijack operations. The TSA was created in the wake of the September 11 attacks. Back home, the CISF has been doing a good job and we have not had security related incidents at any of the airports guarded by the CISF,'' said an MHA official.
MHA sources said that the proposal of having CISF as the dedicated airport security force did not see the light of the day for the last 18 years despite recommedations to the same being given by two committee of secretaries (CoS), first in 2000 and then again in the year 2011.
A committee of secretaries constituted to analyse security threats in the wake of Kandahar hijacking recommended that security of all airports in the country should be handed over to the CISF. In 2011, another CoS reiterated the need to have one secuirty force that specialises in airport security that can exchange intelligence faster and specially be trained to handle security related incidents. But the recommendations remained on paper.
“The Airport Authority of India under the ministry of civil aviation has to agree and be on the same page. But this time, we are hoping that all ministries and stakeholders are going to support the move,'' the official said.
With the MHA once again pitching its demand and the top security brass being positively inclined to it, officials in the ministry said they are hopeful of the proposal being cleared by the government this time. Once the government clears the proposal, the CISF will begin the process of creating more units for airport security. Presently, around 28000 personnel are deployed at 59 airports for airport security in the country. This strength is likely to go up if the proposal sees the light of the day.