Shillong The State government has proposed to raise an ecology and home and hearth battalions for preservation of environment and territorial integrity.
‘’The chief minister has agreed to raise these battalions and would write to Defence Minister A K Antony to raise these battalions in the interest of the state,’’ Director of Meghalaya Rajya Sainik Board Retired Brigadier W J P Sturgeon said.
He said these battalions would be raised by the Centre and will be under the jurisdiction of the Territorial Army.
One battalion would be known as the ‘’ecology battalion’’ whose task will be restoration of ecology across the State and a company each would be deployed across the seven districts of the State to carry out environmental awareness programmes.
Rt Brig Sturgeon said the ‘’Home and Hearth’’ battalion would be an intelligence gathering unit to assist Meghalaya police, central paramilitary forces, army, air force, and other intelligence agencies based in Shillong.
‘’This is an important battalion and it will help the state in collecting information. We would recruit local boys and girls from the State in this battalion as we felt that they would be best person in gathering human intelligence and at the same time are well verse with the topography and the people of the state,’’ he said.
Shillong known as a safe-haven for various militant groups from the region are using the State as their corridor to get in and out of Bangladesh.
‘’I am sure this battalion would do justice to people of the state in containing these anti-national elements,’’ he said.
Meanwhile, the government has proposed to set up a temporary Sainik School at Tura in West Garo Hills district.
‘’We will start a temporary Sainik School at Tura for the time being and the academic session would begin from next year. 67 per cent seats would be reserved for indigenous people of Meghalaya,’’ he added. (UNI)