Maharashtra plans to modernise & interlink checkposts

To check inter-state terror activities, the Maharashtra government has embarked upon a plan to modernise and inter-link all border checkposts in the state.“The main objective of the project is to coordinate and monitor various activities at all the 30 checkposts,” said a senior transport department official.With new facilities, checkposts would be able to capture the image of a vehicle and its registration number. Even the contents inside the vehicle can be scanned. Images captured at the checkposts would now be of a better quality, he said. In a recent incident, the checkpost in Talasari in Thane district had failed to capture images of an accused in Ahmedabad serial blasts, who had stolen four cars from Navi Mumbai. The state government is also hoping that with the modernisation of checkposts, it would also be able to rake in more moolah as excise, toll and octroi would be collected under one roof with electronic payment and accounting facilities.Elaborating its networking facility, the official said information captured at each check post will be centrally available. Relevant information would be sorted out electronically and transmitted to departments concerned, the official added.The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) has started the process of land acquisition for the checkposts at various borders areas. The government will soon finalise a consultant for the pre-tender works.Some of the major locations proposed for modernisation include, Talasari in Thane at Gujarat border, Haddakhed in Dhule at MP border, Navapur in Nandurbar at Gujarat border, Kagal in Kolhapur at Karnataka border, Deori in Gondia at Chhattisgarh border and Omerga in Osmanabad at Karnataka border.