You could say the new demolition order has put a new spin on how we enforce the law along the international frontier. Shah has been clear: no illegal building within 15 km of the line is to be left standing. It’s about making sure physical and financial security go hand in hand against those who would exploit the border.
For the landholders, the businesses and the money men in these sensitive areas, this means they will be under a watchful eye. And there is a deadline for it; a review is set for two months from now to see what has been done on the ground.
Demolition drive ordered within 15 km of border
It was made plain at a high-level meeting: anything from 0 to 15 km in from the border that is not up to code is to be torn down. The MHA sees it as a no-nonsense way to stop smuggling, infiltration and the like from having a place to hide.
What you don’t want is a quick fix, so officials have told districts to get to the bottom of the sources and patterns of the drug trade and other crimes. The point is to put in place something that will hold and keep the trouble from coming back.
Shah has also put forward the idea of a 360-degree kind of security where you have the public, the state and the agencies all working in unison. That is the only way to cover the blind spots one department can’t handle by itself.
Financial scrutiny and local accountability tightened
There is a net of compliance being put in place behind the bulldozers. District magistrates are being given more onus to see to it that the right legal and financial checks are in order in border regions, to put a stop to the funding of crime.
Here is what district magistrates are expected to do:
– Make sure every bank in the area is in line with regulations
– Look into the larger establishments and where their money is coming from
– Put a finger on mule accounts and sham companies in the district
– Spot any fake Aadhaar cards being used for underhand dealings
– Use financial red flags to put a lid on cross-border smuggling
In short, it is physical enforcement with some financial smarts. By having the audits done at the district level, the ministry hopes to spot shell operations faster and put a face to the ones bankrolling the smuggling.
Rajasthan review: coordinated border security push
These instructions come in the wake of a security review in Bikaner on Tuesday. We were looking at the India-Pakistan border districts in Rajasthan. Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma was there, along with top state hands and the magistrates and SPs of the five border districts – Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Sri Ganganagar and Phalodi.
Shah made it a point to talk about the need for the BSF, CBDT, NCB and the state to be on the same page. The joint effort is to deal with everything from encroachment and terror financing to narcotics and infiltration.
Community focus and last-mile governance
The ministry is also on to the Vibrant Villages Programme -II. They want to see it put to good use to shore up governance at the last mile, put a brake on economic crime and give the people living on the border some direct support.
Shah has called for 100 per cent uptake of government schemes in the border villages. He also put in a word for the ‘1930’ call centre to be put to work on cybercrimes, so reporting of online fraud is part of the on-the-ground response.
What happens next
We will be back in two months for a review of how things have gone. The word to the districts is to be result-oriented. Whether it is a structure coming down or a check on compliance, we will be looking for numbers to show we have made a dent in crime.
If you are a resident or in business within 15 km of the border, you know where you stand. If your building is on shaky legal ground, it will be demolished. And if your finances have any taint of smuggling or false papers, you will be looked at very closely.
The ministry is putting its faith in deterrence with data to back it up. Should the coordination at the district level work and the agencies open up their intelligence, it may well be a new way of doing things for securing our border districts.
