Smuggling along Indo-Nepalese border costs Indian kitty Rs 130 billion

A B Mahapatra in New Delhi

The Indian government has decided to tighten the security along the 650-kilometre long Indo-Nepalese border.

This has been prompted by the increase in smuggling along the border which lost the national exchequer a breathtaking Rs 130 billion last year.

As the first step, the authorities will close down 12 border check posts in Bihar to restrict civilian movements between the two countries. These will be reopened after the authorities identify the Indian population in the area.

Further, the authorities plan to open 28 new border posts in the 250-km stretch between Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh and Samastipur in Bihar.

These measures were recommended to the Union finance ministry by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence which monitored the flourishing nefarious activities -- mainly in electronic gadgets, computer floppies, automobile spare-parts, gold and narcotics -- in the border area for the past 14 months.

The report recommended a special task force under the DRI's command to carry out effective counter measures. The force will monitor all vehicular and civilian movements, and would be equipped with sophisticated electronic gadgets and automatic weapons, including x-ray and infra-red ray scanners.

"The government has given us the go ahead," DRI sources say, "Till now, we never had an effective policing system in this area. Worse still, the border forces had in the past challenged our authority on a number of occasions."

The special task force will comprise a 12,000-strong contingent, the personnel to which will be picked from the state police, intelligence outfits and para-military organisations.

The ministry is also considering a proposal to issue identity cards to the citizens inhabiting the border areas.

The 1959 Indo-Nepalese treaty offers citizens of both countries free-run of the border area to facilitate trade and transaction. "But over the years, the treaty has helped smugglers more than genuine traders," DRI sources say.

Three Indian states -- Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal -- share the border with Nepal. Though the authorities had considered fencing the border area, they dropped the idea as it would violate the 1959 treaty and further set back the already strained relations between the countries.

Statistics with the DRI show India lost Rs 17 billion more in 1996-97 than the year before -- from an estimated Rs 113 billion the figure rose to Rs 130 billion. Now Gorakhpur has emerged as a major pick-up point for goods which mainly arrive from New Delhi and Bombay.