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Kerala coastline vulnerable to smuggling, drug trafficking

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, JAN. 11. The Central Board of Excise and Customs' failure to operationalise the recently set up Customs Preventive Commissionerate in Kerala has rendered the State's 600-km coastline vulnerable to smuggling and drug trafficking activities.

As part of the restructuring of Central Excise and Customs Department, the Central Board had in 2002, formed a Chief Commissionerate along with the Customs Preventive Commissionerate based in Kochi with exclusive jurisdiction over Kerala.

The Customs Preventive Commissionerate has additional jurisdiction over Lakshadweep and Mahe coming under the Union Territory of Pondicherry. Since its formation, no Commissioner has taken charge at the Commissionerate even though a senior person had been appointed to head the sensitive formation several months ago.

As a result, the Customs Preventive Commissionerate is yet do any meaningful work. More than 100 superintendents and subordinate staff drawn from Customs and Central Excise formations in the State do not have specific postings or assignments. Of this, nearly 50 superintendents are located in Kochi alone. The commissionerate does not have an office-building of its own and it is yet to take delivery of the brand new vehicles allotted for preventive work for want of space.

The Centre had brought the entire State under a Chief Commissioner, headquartered in Kochi, to ensure better coordination between customs and excise operations.

But the powers of the Customs Preventive Commissionerate, along with that of the Customs House operations in the State, was given to the Chief Commissioner, Bangalore, who looks after customs and excise operations in Karnataka.

Customs and Central Excise staff associations have repeatedly pointed out to the vulnerability of the Kerala coast and the need to create more preventive units in the State. One of the most pressing need, they say, is to re-establish a preventive unit in Thrissur district, which has the longest coastline among the districts from Veliyankode in Ponnani taluk in the North to Kodungalore in South.

According to official figures, Thrissur, which had a separate preventive unit till it was wound up in 1994, had registered a large number of cases relating to smuggling and drug trafficking. In customs parlance, Thrissur has been identified as a transit point for contraband and drugs. All preventive work related to the district is now being carried out by a small unit at Chavakkad.

In a recent petition to the Central Board of Excise and Customs, the staff associations had demanded the formation of more preventive units, including one in Thrissur.

They had highlighted the urgency in re-establishing the Thrissur unit as many cases booked in various parts of the country, including airports had their follow up action and investigation in Thrissur.

The district's hilly hinterland such as Malakkapara, and Sholayar, bordering the Western Ghats, are vulnerable areas as far as drugs are concerned, the petition said.

The staff associations contended that smuggling and drug trafficking had gone up by leaps and bounds owing to the lack of policing of the coastal areas. Customs intelligence had established the return of several known smugglers and drug-peddlers in the coastal region.

Senior customs officials allege that power tussle at the top level in the department is one of the reasons for the current confusion.

Their main objection is to entrust the supervisory powers over customs operations to the Chief Commissioner in Bangalore.

According to the staff associations, it was only logical that the supervisory powers over Customs Preventive and Customs House operations should be handed over to the Chief Commissioner, who has been appointed exclusively for Kerala and who is at present looking after only Central Excise operations. They assert that such an arrangement would ensure better deployment of staff in various customs and central excise formations.

Since the supervisory powers related to Customs House operations are with the Chief Commissioner, Bangalore, officials have to either send files to Bangalore for approval or the Chief Commissioner himself should fly to Kochi to settle issues.

Prompt decisions on redeployment of staff can be taken particularly in places like Nedumbassery International Airport, where shortage of staff has frequently stalled customs operations, if the Chief Commissioner, Kochi, is given the supervisory functions relating to Customs Preventive and Customs House operations in the State.

The staff associations unanimously aver that unless the Central Board takes a positive attitude, the attempts to reorganise the Commissionerates in Kerala can be viewed as an exercise to create new posts to accommodate group `A' officials.

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