After the threat of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to withdraw its personnel from the security of Punjab and Haryana governments’ civil secretariat in Chandigarh if they fail to pay Rs 45-crore dues within three months, Haryana government on Friday said that they had cleared the dues of CISF till April 2013 and now they will meet the officials concerned to clear the misunderstanding.
Haryana additional chief secretary (Home) Samir Mathur admitted that they have received a letter from SB Singh, IG (HQ) CISF, New Delhi on May 27, regarding withdrawal of CISF from Punjab and Haryana Secretariat Chandigarh.
“Haryana had already paid the dues of CISF till April 2013,” Mathur said, adding that he along with his counterpart in Punjab would meet CISF officials on June 17 to sort out the issues.
In its letter, CISF had claimed that Punjab and Haryana governments have not paid their dues of Rs 45-crore. According to CISF, Punjab’s dues are around Rs 22 crore while Haryana owes around Rs 23 crore from 2003 onwards. The offices of chief ministers of both the states, ministers and top bureaucrats are situated in the civil secretariat. More than 800 personnel of the CISF are deployed to secure the building. Till 1995, the security around the secretariat was entrusted with the local police.
However, after the August 1995 bomb blast, which killed then Punjab chief minister Beant Singh and 16 others, ITBP was given the security of civil secretariat. In 1999, the CISF took over the security responsibilities.
The Union ministry of home affairs in 2012 had also asked both the governments to clear the outstanding dues.
“In spite of repeated advice from the MHA at several meetings, the state governments of Punjab and Haryana have neither given serious consideration to settle the outstanding dues towards cost of CISF deployment nor signed the MOU...,” added the CISF communication. In addition, CISF officials say that Punjab and Haryana governments have failed to provide residential accommodation for the families of the CISF personnel who guard the secretariat. CISF has repeatedly requested several times to both state governments to sign MOU to provide such facilities, but matter still remains unresolved.