Agartala, Nov. 6: Tripura’s Left Front government is set on a collision course with the Union home ministry over the issue of funds for modernisation of the state’s police force.

Though the issue has not yet been taken up at the political level, sources in the state’s home department expressed “disappointment” with the fund flow for the modernisation of the police force.

Sources said central funds to launch the 5-8 battalions of Tripura State Rifles have not been made available. The state on its own has already constituted 12 battalions while training was being imparted to the 13 battalion.

The state demanded Rs 12.75 crore as primary grant for constituting the 13 battalion of the TSR but so far no sanction has been made by the Union home ministry.

“The issue came up for discussion in the just-concluded meeting of the DGPs of Northeast held in Shillong. Tripura DGP Pranay Sahay focussed on the issue in his speech and pressed for early sanction of the entire corpus,” a source said.

They also pointed out the discrimination in the sanction of funds for special police officers.

“More than 3,500 SPOs on a fixed monthly salary of Rs 3,000 each have been appointed in Tripura in a phased manner since 2001 to fight militancy at the grassroots level. But the Centre gives only Rs 500 each towards the salaries of the SPOs. For similar SPOs in Jammu and Kashmir, the Centre gives Rs 3,000 each and for those in Chhattishgarh for fighting Naxalites, the Centre gives Rs 1,800 each,” the source said. As a special category state, Tripura should receive more of the funds for paying salaries to the 3,900 SPOs, he added.

What has, however, put the state government in a soup is the Union home ministry’s recent demand for the payment of Rs 75 lakh per month as 10 per cent of the expenses incurred in posting CRPF jawans in Tripura.

The state government has been asked to make the payment from the current financial year. Two reminders have already arrived.

Sources here said the state government was not financially in a position to make the payment and the matter was discussed during the meeting of the DGPs in Shillong.

“The CRPF jawans had been posted in large numbers during the height of insurgency for a decade and the expenses were met by the Union home ministry as the matter pertained to the question of national security. But now this demand for payment is intriguing as the problem of insurgency is yet to be resolved,” the source said.

They indicated that unless the matter was resolved at the official level, the chief minister would take up the issue with Union home minister P. Chidambaram.