New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah has directed authorities to demolish all illegal structures located within 15 kilometres of India’s international borders, while calling for a strict “zero tolerance” policy against encroachments in sensitive border regions. The directive was issued during a high-level security review meeting in Rajasthan’s Bikaner district on Tuesday, reported HT.
According to officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Shah reviewed the security situation in border districts along the India-Pakistan frontier and stressed the need for stronger coordination between citizens, state agencies and security forces to create a comprehensive security framework in border areas.
The meeting was attended by Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, senior state officials, district magistrates and superintendents of police from Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Sri Ganganagar and Phalodi districts.
Officials said the Union home minister instructed district administrations to conduct detailed studies into the networks behind crimes, drug trafficking and cross-border smuggling activities, and devise long-term solutions to prevent their recurrence. The ministry has also expanded the responsibilities of district magistrates in border regions to monitor suspicious financial transactions, verify large business establishments, track mule bank accounts and shell companies, and identify fake Aadhaar cards.
Shah also underlined the importance of coordinated border management involving the Border Security Force (BSF), Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and state authorities to combat infiltration, narcotics smuggling, terror financing and other trans-border crimes.
The directive comes amid the Centre’s broader push for technologically enhanced “smart borders” along the Pakistan and Bangladesh frontiers to strengthen surveillance and curb illegal infiltration and smuggling activities.
