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Bhubaneswar, June 7: The state government Tuesday sought relaxation in selection norms for tribals in military services and asked for formation of an operational brigadier unit of the Army in the state.
The appeal was made by the state government during a liaison conference between civil and army establishments under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi at secretariat here.
“We have sought relaxation in norms for tribals in Army jobs, in terms of height and other physical criteria to help more youths in tribal dominated districts of the state get into Army,” the Chief Secretary said after the meeting which was attended by seven senior Army officers led by Major General DVS Rana.
Speaking on the issue, home secretary Asit Tripathy said “We have asked the Army to establish recruitment offices at Maoist-prone areas such as Koraput, Malkangiri and other districts as currently we have such offices in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar only.
Last year, the recruitment to Army was less than the state quota, Tripathy said. “We have requested them to carry forward the balance quota and organise more recruitment rallies. The district administration would provide all support for organisation of such rallies and we target to recruit around 1,300 youths during the current calendar year,” he said, adding, the government has demanded establishment of more ECHS hospitals in the state to provide medical treatment to ex-servicemen and their dependants.
Speaking about the brigadier unit for operational purpose, Tripathy said establishment of a brigadier headquarters at Amarda Road in Balasore district will help in carrying out Army operations in the state during requirement.
Tripathy said the land for this purpose is available with the state government since World War-II.
The state government also placed its views on various issues such as hinterland security, costal security and use of military in disaster management during the meeting
