The much-awaited full-body truck scanning system (FBTSS) at the Integrated Check Post (ICP) is in limbo.
The project that commenced on March 15 was expected to be completed by September 15. However, officials said the deadline had been pushed to October 31 due to “adverse weather conditions”.
Local MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla today inspected work at the ICP, only to find an unfinished concrete structure lying abandoned where the FBTSS was to be set up.
Questioning the working of the Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI), Aujla said only a mason and a few helpers were present, with negligible supervision of any designated authority. “Substandard workmanship was visible,” he said. Aujla stated that he would raise the matter with the Ministries of Defence and Home since the delay amounted to compromising national security.
Ever since the foundation stone of the ICP was laid by then Union Home Minister P Chidambaram in 2010, there has been a demand of installation of the FBTSS. In the wake of cross-border attempts to push in narcotics, arms and other forbidden material into India, the FBTSS was demanded by the security agencies and traders.
Costing around Rs 23 crore, the project of installing one set of full-body 22-wheel truck scanners was announced at the ICP by Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiran Rijiju on March 22, 2017.
According to the Land Ports Authority of India Act, 2010, it is mandatory to install scanners at the posts through which international trade is carried out.
At present, trucks moving between India and Pakistan are manually inspected with the assistance of sniffer dogs. Due to lapses, several incidents of contraband and weapons being smuggled into the country have been reported since the trade between the two countries began.
LPAI manager Sukhdev Singh said the MP had arrived unannounced and incidentally no official was there on the spot.
“We have taken due cognisance of shortcomings pointed out by him. Otherwise, very high security and standards are being maintained in the project. The delay was due to inclement weather, but we hope to get it done by October 31. The equipment has already been imported from US and is lying at Gwalior. It will be brought here as soon as the civil work gets completed. With the nuclear emission technology, these scanners can easily detect fissile material, narcotics and contraband,” he said.
