Government allows free air travel for paramilitary jawans in J & K sectors

February 21: Jawans of the CRPF and other paramilitary forces deployed in the Kashmir Valley will now be able to take a commercial flight to join duty or while going on leave. This was declared by the Union home ministry on Thursday. This will benefit about 7.80 lakh paramilitary jawans.

This new decision by the Government of India comes in the wake of the killing of 40 jawans in a deadly attack on their convoy in Pulwama. This facility adds to the existing “air courier services” for CAPFs or Central Armed Police Forces in which an entire aircraft is booked for the personnel on some routes.

The home ministry order said that it “has approved the entitlement of air travel on Delhi-Srinagar, Srinagar-Delhi, Jammu-Srinagar and Srinagar-Jammu sectors to all the personnel of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs)”. Thus, the jawans “in the ranks of Constable, Head Constable and ASI who were otherwise not eligible earlier”, can now fly in commercial flights “while going on leave from Jammu and Kashmir to home and return.”

Minister of State for Home Affairs Jitendra Singh said the latest order of his ministry is a “path-breaking” decision for the security forces. This facility is in addition to the existing air courier services for CAPFs that have been steadily extended in all sectors by the MHA to help the jawans cut down on travel time during their journey to and fro from home on leave.