leading by example, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder has ordered to cut down his own security by 376 police personnel as the State Government prunes VIP security cover by a whopping 2,000 men to enhance the infrastructure for better policing.
The move, aimed at diverting precious resources to the more important and essential task of ensuring law and order in the State, came after a security review meeting chaired by the Chief Minister and attended by Chief Principal Secretary Suresh Kumar, DGP Suresh Arora and ADGP (Intelligence) Dinkar Gupta here on Friday.
The withdrawal announced after the meeting includes the Chief Minister's security, which has been cut down from 1,392 to 1,016.
In addition, around 1,500-odd security personnel have been withdrawn in other categories of Constitutional and Government functionaries, according to an official spokesperson.
The Chief Minister, it may be noted, had already ordered an end to all deployment on his travel routes.
The spokesperson said that the Chief Minister's security was likely to be cut down even more after the next round of review, based on fresh reports on threat perceptions.
The Chief Minister has made it clear that he does not want any security beyond the bare necessity. At Friday's meeting, the Chief Minister also directed the police and other agencies to review the existing security policy, which was approved by the Punjab Cabinet and subsequently notified by the Department of Home Affairs and Justice, in 2013.
Capt Amarinder has asked the agencies to submit their report after completion of the review soon.
The Chief Minister underlined the need to provide only need-based security, taking the latest threat perception into account, for any individuals.
Given that the existing security policy was three years old, he directed the police to call for fresh reports from the State and Central agencies to map the prevailing threat perceptions and decide on the security quantum accordingly.
This was the second security review meeting of Capt Amarinder Government since it took over the State's reins.
During the last security review carried out in March, by a committee headed by the DGP, law and Order, Punjab, 749 police and paramilitary personnel were withdrawn from various categories of protectees.
Addressing the meeting, Capt Amarinder further pointed out that the prevailing security environment - a key criterion in determining the threat perception to any individual - had also undergone significant change in the past three years, requiring it to be revisited by the concerned agencies.