Amresh Parab
Panaji: In what could be a cause of concern for the state government, threat perception to members of the state legislative assembly (MLAs) seems to be on the rise with a security cover currently provided to 15 legislators by Goa police.
Following an assessment carried out by State Security Review Committee (SSRC), police have provided security cover to a total of 18 individuals, including 15 MLAs, two former MLAs and a prominent writer. Incidentally, till July last year, only two MLAs and the writer were under Y and X category security cover, respectively.
According to recent government data, of the 15 MLAs who are currently under security cover, one MLA has been given security under Z+ category, while another legislator has been provided Z category security and 13 MLAs have been covered under Y category security.
The two former legislators have been provided Y category security, states the official data without revealing details of the protectees, citing security reasons. As per media reports, the writer has been provided with a security cover since July 2018.
Government officials said that a decision with regard to providing police security to the MLAs is taken by SSRC. “The security cover provided is subject to the review based on threat perception and the positions held by the individuals. The same is assessed by SSRC and on the basis of such reviews, the provided security cover is either upgraded/downgraded/continued or withdrawn,” an official said. He said the decisions on security cover for former legislators are also taken by SSRC.
“The security cover provided to the author is subject to a continuous review based on the threat perception received from the agencies concerned. The threat perception is then assessed by the SSRC for the state of Goa,” states the official data.
Officials said that the expenses incurred towards the security provided to the author are solely borne by the government. “The decision to provide security cover on payment basis lies with SSRC. However, presently there are no individuals in the state, who are provided security cover on payment basis,” said officials.
