Here is some number crunching to deduce how much does the security of our leaders cost the exchequer. The safety of political leaders and other VIPs in the State is the responsibility of the State police. According to senior officials, there are 1,000 VIPs in Andhra Pradesh being provided protection by around 6,000 armed personnel. Estimating the average salary of the deployed personnel at around Rs 15,000 each, the per annum figure is about Rs 108 crore. Add to that the expense of bullet proof cars, jammers and fuel, not to mention the arms, high security gadgets installed in offices and residences of senior ministers and the cost of securing leaders could easily touch Rs 150 to Rs 200 crore, an official estimate.
After all, each bullet proof vehicle fabricated by the car maker costs anywhere between Rs 10 lakh to Rs 30 lakh depending on the car model, with Ambassadors costing the least also because they have to be armoured locally as Hindustan Motors doesn’t fabricate armoured vehicles. Other vehicles such as Scorpio, Qualis and Sumo are also armoured by the manufacturers, their cost ranging from Rs 20 to Rs 22 lakh. Jammers cost Rs 75 lakh and above, depending on the jammer’s frequency.
A senior cop says that salaries of the deployed personnel is the main expense in the security arrangement. In addition, the per annum fuel expenditure is around Rs 11 crore on various VIP vehicles.
While the deployment ranges from one constable to two gunmen to complete convoys depending on how vulnerable a target the VIP is, it does sap the force with senior IPS officers ruing they are tired of meeting demands of various small time politicians forever seeking heightened security measures for them.
Courtesy: Times News Service
