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EC issues guidelines for deployment of central forces

In a big step to ensure free and fair polling, the Election Commission today directed the Union home secretary and all chief secretaries to "actively involve" chief electoral officers in the deployment of central forces during the forthcoming Lok Sabha and assembly elections.

The commission also decided to use for the first time the services of the National Cadet Corps at polling booths to ensure smooth voting.

Issuing guidelines on the deployment of central forces, the commission said it had been observed that central forces were not used properly in the past, but were often kept in reserve or arrived too late to be deployed effectively.

To remove some of the confusion and see that the entire exercise is geared optimally to conduct free and fair elections, the commission directed that the chief electoral officer of the state should be actively associated in drawing up the deployments of security forces in the state.

His recommendations on what quantum of forces should be deployed in which constituency shall merit serious consideration in drawing up the plan.

Also, the district deployment should be formulated and finalised under the chairmanship of the district magistrate and district election officer. All polling stations should be covered with adequate security backed with necessary mobile support, the commission said.

Deployment of forces should be finalised well before polling day, preferably within two to three days of the start of the campaigning, it added.

For the states going to polls in phases, the entire security deployment should be finalised after the first notification, the commission said.

Central forces should be deployed for active election duty and they not kept in reserve. The chief electoral officer should be consulted before the central paramilitary forces are put on reserve duty, it said.

The deployment plan must spell out when and where central forces are reaching the state.

The Election Commission noted that a large number of central paramilitary forces had been diverted because of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir following the Kargil conflict. Taking this into account, it decided to deploy senior division NCC boy cadets above the age of 18 years for poll duty.

This deployment will be on a voluntary basis and with the consent of the parents of the cadets, it said.

The cadets will not be deployed at difficult and sensitive polling booths with a past history of trouble. As far as possible, they will be put on duty in cities and towns and areas adjoining the place where their NCC unit is located.

"In any case, they shall not be deployed outside the district in which the NCC units are located," the Election Commission clarified.

The cadets will be deployed only on polling day and during polling hours.

They shall be used for activities like queue control and in orderly conduct of the poll.

The cadets will be given a suitable honorarium as provided to polling staff.

Though the cadets will be in uniform, they will be deployed without firearms.

In the event of any unforeseen accident or injury to the cadets on duty, the standard policy of the state government concerned will apply.

A state-level co-ordination meeting will be held among the deputy director general (NCC), chief electoral officer, state home secretary and director-general of police concerned to work out the deployment of the cadets. Similar meetings will be held at the district level also.

Earlier, the commission held a meeting of the chief secretaries and directors general of police of nine states to review their poll preparations.

The states whose representatives were called were Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

UNI

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