Kolkata: CM Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday announced that the Bengal govt has reserved 20% posts in the police, fire brigade, forest and civil defence departments for retired Agniveers and also hinted at the reintroduction of NCC in schools and colleges in the state, reversing two key decisions of the erstwhile Trinamool govt.Ex-CM Mamata Banerjee, referring to a June 2022 letter from the Centre urging state govts to prioritise recruitment of retired Agniveers, had likened the Agnipath scheme, under which such short-term soldiers are appointed, as “BJP’s dustbin”.As for NCC, many schools and colleges had discontinued enrolment of students in the national corps and opted for Jai Hind Bahini during the Trinamool regime.“After the Taratala incident (the collapse of an under-construction warehouse in June that led to 16 deaths), we spoke about forming a team of civil defence and disaster management personnel and give Agniveers an opportunity,” CM Adhikari said after a programme where defence minister Rajnath Singh laid the foundation stone for five brownfield expansion projects for Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers. “He (Singh) was pleased to hear that 20% posts have been reserved for Agniveers in police, fire brigade, forest and civil defence.”Agniveer soldiers are recruited under the Agnipath scheme for the Army, Navy and Air Force for four years, after which up to 25% of the recruits can be retained as part of the regular cadre.“Since we will not get Agniveers till Jan (when the first batch of recruits will retire), we have recruited 200 ex-servicemen from Sainik Board (for the civil defence-disaster management team). The team, to be called ‘Arjun Bahini’, will start work in Sept. I will inaugurate it,” the CM said.Of the 200 ex-servicemen, 100 will be based in Kolkata, 50 in the hills and the remaining 50 in Sagar-Kakdwip. “They will be able to respond quickly with modern equipment to any disaster,” CM Adhikari said.The previous govt, he said, had removed NCC from schools and colleges and introduced a ‘Jai Hind Bahini’. “Students have been missing out on NCC training, which inculcates discipline in them. I spoke with him (defence minister Singh) about introducing NCC in more schools and colleges. He said there is a protocol under which schools and colleges can apply (for reintroduction of NCC). I will write a letter (to the defence ministry) on the issue,” the CM said.At a security-related meeting with the CM on Saturday, Union home minister Amit Shah had stressed the need to bring more educational institutions within the NCC ambit.The CM said the previous govt had not utilised a large chunk of the funds allotted by the Centre for disaster management.“Availability of land won’t be an issue if a defence manufacturing unit wants to come to the state. I told him (defence minister) that the state govt will extend both hands,” Adhikari said.Referring to the Agnipath scheme, ex-CM Banerjee had said, “Why should I take responsibility for others’ sins… Why should the state be asked to give them full-term jobs after the Centre dumps them after four years? Why can’t the Centre take their responsibility and absorb them as full-tenure soldiers?”
