Bangalore city could be shrouded under a security blanket even in peacetime under a government plan to protect sensitive economic zones. Besides existing public sector installations, the Centre now proposes to include some private sector installations in the oil and IT sectors in the list of vulnerable areas & vital points (VAs & VPs), which need protection against acts of sabotage and terrorism.
On the government?s radar are the Jamnagar refinery and petrochemical complex of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) in Gujarat and the whole of Bangalore city, which houses IT units and a large number of vital research facilities in the civil and defence sectors. The ministry of petroleum and department of IT identified these as installations of economic and strategic importance.
At a recent meeting, security agencies, along with the ministry of home affairs, ministry of defence and Intelligence Bureau (IB), held discussions over the inclusion of these units in the list of VAs & VPs. If so identified, the ministry of home affairs would recommend their protection by central security agencies or state police.
RIL?s refinery at Jamnagar, one of the biggest in India and the third-largest in the world, has requested protection from possible air attack, for which anti-aircraft guns and other facilities would need to be stationed near the site. Located near the Pakistan border, Jamnagar airport is already under IAF cover and it is proposed that this could be extended to RIL?s refinery.
Official sources told FE that while there was a clear consensus on declaring Bangalore city a VA, the defence ministry and IB expressed reservations about providing peacetime cover to the RIL refinery at Jamnagar as it might invite requests by several private companies for similar security.
Bangalore city, on the other hand, is considered vulnerable from the security point of view.