New Delhi: The Ministry of Civil Aviation may examine the feasibility of setting up a specialized security agency for airports only, in consultation with the Ministry of Home Affairs, a Parliamentary Committee said on Monday.

The Department related to the Standing Committee for Transport, Tourism and Culture has tabled its report on the development of greenfield and brownfield airports and issues pertaining to civil enclaves in defence airports in parliament on Monday.

The report accessed by ANI reads that the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) plays a pivotal role in providing security at airports, which is brought out by the fact that out of a total of 353 units deployed by CISF, 66 units or 18.7 per cent is deployed at the airports only.

“The Committee also notes that the responsibility of the CISF to provide security is spread across a wide spectrum of establishments, as it provides security to 353 installations across the country including airports. It is also aware that the Civil Aviation Sector has seen exponential growth and is expected to grow at a faster pace in the near future, which will enhance the need for manpower engaged in providing security for airports,” it reads.

The Committee, therefore, recommends that the Ministry of Civil Aviation may examine the feasibility of setting up a specialized security agency for airports only, in consultation with the Ministry of Home Affairs, it added.

The Committee was informed that earlier Costs of Deployment (CoD) of CISF deployment were paid by the concerned airport management/AAI.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation created a trust namely “National Aviation Security Fee Trust (NASFT)” in the year 2019.

One of the mandates of NASFT is remittance to CISF (Aviation Security Group - ASG) from the Trust (NASFT) towards the cost of deployment to the CISF. Since 1st July 2019, CISF COD is centrally paid by NASFT for all airports.

The Committee was also apprised that as of date, the total outstanding dues of Cost of Deployment (COD) in respect of 66 airports under CISF is Rs 4707 crores.

Further, the 16 joint venture airports account for more than 64 per cent of the total outstanding COD dues.