GUWAHATI: A parliamentary committee has recommended that the Union Ministry of Home Affairs should expedite the completion of the ongoing housing projects for the border guarding forces to improve the satisfaction levels vis-à-vis authorized number of houses.
In its report, Working Conditions in Border Guarding Forces, placed in Parliament earlier this week, the committee observed that the housing satisfaction level vis-à-vis authorized number of houses was quite low in all the border guarding forces – Assam Rifles, Sashastra Seema Bal, Indo-Tibetan Border Police and Border Security Force.
The committee also noted that the housing problem was more acute when the satisfaction level was compared to sanctioned strength and that the construction of several housing projects was pending while proposals of some housing projects are yet to be approved by the ministry.
“The ministry should take an early decision on all housing projects under consideration and expedite their completion in a time bound manner to improve the satisfaction levels vis-à-vis authorized number of houses,” it said in the report.
On Assam Rifles, entire force of which is based in the Northeast, the committee observed that the construction of the 497 houses out of the 1467 approved by the central government for the force has been pending for over five years, and therefore, must be expedited and completed within a year.
The committee said that while it understood the constraints in the North Eastern region that can delay the construction process, it felt that the period of five years was more than sufficient for completing the construction of all the approved houses.
“The Committee, therefore, recommends that the construction of the remaining houses must be expedited and completed within a year. The Committee also takes note of the proposal of construction of 384 additional houses by 2020 that is still under the consideration of the Ministry of Home Affairs,” it said.
The committee felt that the project needed to be expedited if it had to be completed by its stipulated deadline.
“The Committee, therefore, recommends that an early decision may be taken to grant approval to this proposal within the next three months and the construction may be started at the earliest during this calendar year itself.
The committee further exhorted the Assam Rifles to explore the possibility of monetizing its existing land so that their dependence on home ministry for funds to build houses may be reduced.
