New Delhi, Oct. 1: Central paramilitary forces defending the mighty Himalayas or fighting in mosquito-infested jungles might soon enjoy parity with the army on tough-terrain allowances.

Special secretary (internal security) and BSF director-general M.L. Kumawat today said the home ministry was discussing the matter with the finance ministry.

“The paramilitary forces will get parity on difficult-terrain allowance and difficult-duty allowances with our other forces,” he told reporters today as he took over as BSF chief from A.K. Mitra.

Kumawat said an announcement was expected in two months.

The army’s allowances are categorised into high altitude, super high altitude, Siachen, insurgency and uncongenial.

The paramilitary forces — the BSF, CRPF, Central Industrial Security Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Assam Rifles and the Sashastra Seema Bal — have long been complaining about disparities in pay.

The ITBP, for instance, guards beyond the army line in the mountains of Arunachal Pradesh but its personnel are not paid as much as the army.

In the Northeast, too, BSF jawans are denied the special allowance that their army counterparts get for working in an insurgency-prone area.

Neither BSF nor CRPF personnel enjoy “peace postings” like the army. “We also do not get free ration like the army. A CRPF man gets Rs 800 as fixed diet allowance,” a CRPF officer said.

The army does not grudge the paramilitary forces their demands. “If they are living in the same conditions and undergoing the same difficulties, they should have the same facilities,” an army officer in the defence ministry said.