Lucknow, Aug 29 (IANS): There is 36 per cent vacancy for recruitment to gazetted posts in the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), which guards India's borders with Nepal and Bhutan, the Union Home Ministry has admitted in response to an RTI query.

R.B.S. Negi, Deputy Secretary in the Home Ministry, while replying to a query by activist Nutan Thakur on the existing vacancies in the force, said 815 posts are lying vacant as against the sanctioned strength of 2,215 gazetted officers.

In the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), guarding the India-China border, 573 posts (27 per cent) are vacant as against the sanctioned strength of 2,094 gazetted officers.

Among the six Central Para-Military Forces of SSB, ITBP, BSF, CISF, CRPF and Assam Rifles, of the total sanctioned posts of 17,967 gazetted officers, there is a vacancy for 2,892 gazetted officer posts (16 per cent). The position is best in the BSF where of 5,513 gazetted officers' posts, only five per cent (485) are vacant.

In contrast, the position of Subordinate Officers (SOs) and Constabulary is much better in the Central Para-Military Forces. Of the total sanctioned strength of 9,61,580 SOs and Constabulary, the vacancy is for 61,368 posts which is 6 per cent of the total strength.

The situation is worst again in the SSB, where of the total sanctioned strength of 96,643 SOs and Constabulary, 20,581 posts (21 per cent) are vacant. The situation is best in the CRPF where of the total sanctioned strength of 3,12,882 SOs and Constabulary, only 13,276 posts (4 per cent) are vacant.