Wednesday, September 20 2006 11:30 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Ahead of the Congress Chief Ministers' conclave, Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil yesterday (Sept 19, 2006) reviewed the internal security situation in the country with senior officials in the security establishment.

Officials gave a detailed account of the current situation to Patil who will make a presentation on the security scenario at the two-day Congress Chief Minister's conclave at Nainital later this week.

With terrorist and Naxal violence posing a major security problem in the country, Patil took stock of the situation so that he can make a detailed presentation at the high-level session where Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi will also be present.

Sources in the Home Ministry said that Patil was likely to take the opportunity to ask the Chief Ministers in the party-ruled states to improve the capacity of state police forces to fight terror. He is likely to draw the attention of the Chief Ministers to the fact that many states were slow in even filling up vacancies in the state police and in overhauling the state intelligence machinery.

The Home Ministry has already asked the states to utilise the funds given to them under the head of Security Related Expenditure (SRE).

"Patil's presentation, on the basis of updated data, is likely to focus on what is being done to check terrorist and Naxal violence in the country and the moves ahead," the sources said.

They said the Home Minister was likely to explain both the policy and operational aspects and share with the participants the details of the Rs 100 crore mega policing project under the police modernisation programme.

Intelligence gathering at the ground-level and sharing of intelligence inputs by the states are the latest thrust areas mooted by the security establishment, besides development of border areas to contain Naxal and terrorist activities.