The Central Government has given its nod to raise another battalion of Tripura State Rifles (TSR), said Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha on Thursday.
“Big boost for Tripura! Union Ministry of Home Affairs sanctions raising of another India Reserve (IR) battalion for Tripura State Rifles, enhancing security and generating employment opportunities. Grateful to Hon’ble PM Shri Ji and Union Home Minister Shri Ji”, CM Saha wrote on his X handle on Thursday.
The decision was adopted after the chief minister placed a proposal for another TSR battalion before Union Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah during a recent meeting in New , said an official from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) on Friday.
The official said the Central Government would disburse a one-time financial assistance of Rs 50 crore to raise a TSR battalion. An amount of up to Rs 30 crore would be provided for the cost of infrastructure (excluding land cost), with submission of details of expenditure.
Currently, there are 14 battalions of TSR, a majority of which are India Reserve (IR) battalions that can be deployed to any state under orders from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
As per the latest inputs, two TSR battalions have already been posted under the authority of Delhi Police since 2019 and in the South Eastern Coalfields Ltd (SECL) of Chhattisgarh since 2022. One more TSR battalion is engaged in providing dedicated security to Oil and Natural Gas Corporation’s (ONGC) drilling sites in Tripura.
In addition, they provide security during elections in different states as part of the central armed police forces (CAPF).
TSR was formed as per the Tripura State Rifles Act, 1983, passed in the Tripura Assembly, and the first battalion came into existence on March 12, 1984.
Tripura currently has 21,798 jawans serving under the TSR.
Earlier, in June last year, CM Saha, during his meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, sought two additional Indian Reserve (IR) battalions and approval for Rs 13.10 crores as grant-in-aid to raise each IR battalion in the state and another Rs 40.54 crore for procuring various materials required for implementation and monitoring progress of the seizures and sampling storage and disposal of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.
