The Border Security Force’s jurisdiction has been extended because of the threat of drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), the Union home ministry informed Parliament on Tuesday.

Responding to a question by BJP parliamentarian Varun Gandhi, junior home minister Nityanand Rai said in a written reply: “The extension in territorial jurisdiction of BSF in some states is aimed at empowering BSF to discharge its border guarding duties more effectively in the wake of use of technology like drones, UAVs, etc, generally having long range, by anti-national forces for surveillance as well as for smuggling of arms, narcotics and fake Indian currency notes (FICN).”

The minister said it would also help in curbing the menace of cattle smuggling as pilferers take refuge in the interior areas outside the jurisdiction of the BSF.

Varun had asked the rationale behind extending the BSF’s jurisdiction from 15km to 50km within India from the international borders in Bengal, Punjab and Assam through a government notification dated October 11, 2021.

The Union home ministry has also given the BSF the power to arrest, search and carry out seizures in areas that fall within 50km from the Pakistan and Bangladesh borders. This jurisdiction was up to 15km earlier.

Last month, the Bengal Assembly had passed a resolution against the Centre’s decision to extend the BSF’s jurisdiction.

The resolution said the House believed that increasing the BSF’s jurisdiction was against the country’s federal structure, as law and order was a state subject. It stated that the notification exceeded the provision of the BSF Act and that it would lead to coordination issues between the state police and the BSF.

Last week, BSF director-general Pankaj Kumar Singh had said the probable reason for the Centre’s decision to extend the BSF’s jurisdiction was that “the demographic balance has been upset in border states like Bengal and Assam over a period of time”.

Singh reiterated that the force was not trying to act as a parallel police and that the powers to investigate and file charge sheets would remain with the state police.

“Over a period of time, you must have observed whether it is Assam or West Bengal, the demographic balance has been upset to a great degree…it has changed for whatever reasons. It has changed and there have been agitations in certain states and there have been many times revolts because of these reasons…even the voter pattern has changed in certain districts neighbouring borders,” Singh had said.