Punjab today sought a special package for the border state to overcome the security challenges, including those posed by narco-terrorism and Maoists.

Addressing the meeting of Chief Ministers on internal security here today, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal sought extension of scheme providing funds for modernisation of police force by a minimum of 10 years and increase of budget from Rs 30 crore to Rs 150 crore.

He also sought allocation of Rs 50 crore for training and equipment of Special Security Group and allowing raising of one more Indian Reserve Battalion besides introduction of basic change in the allocation of budget from Union Government to make the schemes state-specific.

Seeking a special package from the Centre to tackle Left wing extremism, Badal pleaded that the state be considered category 'A' instead of category 'B' looking at the historic roots of Naxal agitation in Punjab.

Badal, who also holds the Home portfolio in Punjab, underlined the threats in the state and sought national support to combat these elements.

"Punjab being a border state with 553 km-long international border with Pakistan that adjoins with troubled Jammu and Kashmir was influenced by sensitive geographical location coupled with various outfits active in the neighbouring states," he said, adding that the matter got further compounded with interstate dynamics and national issues.

He reminded that the state had passed through turbulent period of violence in the 80s and early 90s in which 11,694 innocents including 262 family members of policemen and 1,780 security personnel including 6 IPS officers were killed. He said that the fact that out of 271 gallantry awards to the security personnel in this period, 42 were awarded posthumously was indicative of the resolve of Punjab Police to tackle violence head on.

Badal said that Punjab was perhaps the only state which has successfully fought both Naxalism and Terrorism. Badal said that Naxal movement was controlled in the 1960s and early 70s and terrorism in the 80s and early 90s.

Advising caution against its re-eruption, Badal said "being a border state we continuously face threats from across the border for the revival of terrorism and there was a long continuous threat for revival of Naxalism".

He underlined that Punjab was continuously fighting these battles and was facing continuous flow of weapons, explosives, drugs and fake currency from across the borders.

Emphasising the need for effective sharing of intelligence regarding movements and threat perceptions of important personalities at interstate and international level, Badal said that advance information was imperative to tackle the situation effectively.

Reiterating the resolve of SAD-BJP government to tackle narco-terrorism, he said Punjab was the worst sufferer with its geographical proximity to "Golden Crescent" comprising of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran - the largest producers of illegal opiates.

He said that drive of Punjab Police against narco- smuggling could be gauged from the fact that Punjab accounted for 1/5th of total heroin recovery in the country. He sought installation of special equipment in the border area to freeze signals of Pakistani SIM cards being used by smugglers.

The Punjab Deputy chief minister said in order to fight all these problems "we have recruited more than 18,000 policemen in last three years, set up a Special Security Group (SSG) on lines of NSG, established SWAT Teams, created independent cadre for the intelligence wing, introduced Commissionerate system in major towns, increased state police budget from Rs 1,500 crore to Rs 3,000 crore in the last five years".

Stressing on the need to adequately equip police force, Badal said today wars were won by technology. He lamented that in India, "internal security gets the least importance in our Budget".

On the allocation of funds for modernisation in the Budget which is about Rs 1,000 crore per year, Badal said it was a pittance when compared to what Defence gets (1,93,000 crore) and said even NREGA gets Rs 30,000 to 40,000 crore per year.

Stressing the need to take preventive measures rather than curing it when the problem has turned full blown, Badal said to tackle the problems of naxalism and terrorism, "we spent thousands of crore on cure rather than spending a little amount on their prevention".

Laying stress on capacity building of police, Badal said the Centre must help the state in improving infrastructure, providing better manpower and financial resources at police station level, equipping police force with modern weaponry and gadgetry and improvised non-lethal weaponry.