Government will issue identity cards to "usual residents" of 3,331 coastal villages in nine states and four Union Territories by March 2010 as part of its drive to strengthen security in coastal areas, Home Minister P Chidambaram informed the Rajya Sabha today.

Replying to supplementaries during Question Hour, he said the proposal to issue smart card-based IDs to all such residents in these areas has come in the wake of the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai.

The ID cards would be issued in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal and Union Territories of Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Puducherry.

"The scheme will be implemented in two phases. In the first phase, 3,331 villages will be covered during 2009-10," he said adding about 1.2 lakh population would be covered in the first phase.

The remaining coastal areas will be covered in the second phase which will be done along with 2011 Census, he said.

Chidambaram said separately a proposal to issue smart cards to fishermen in the maritime states is being implemented by the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries.

Fishing vessels and boats of fishermen are currently being registered separately.

Also Read   Related Stories News Now - Govt taking action on Varun's security: Chidambaram - No plans to use pvt airlines for moving paramilitary forces: Chidambaram - Country witnessed 1,128 incidents of naxal violence this year - Govt to shift to nutrient-based subsidy regime - Tax breaks and more - Mukherjee outscores Chidambaram as FM: Snap poll   Also Read   Related Stories News Now - Sensex makes remarkable recovery, regains 17K - S C Kalia takes over as Union Bank ED - PNB may acquire majority stake in Kazakh bank - Maoist hindering land acquisition for Tata steel project: Raman - Koda says he will report to ED only after Jharkhand polls More

Chidambaram said identity cards for fishermen would be useful for day-to-day applications such as availing of diesel subsidy and credit facilities from cooperative society.

Asked about reports of Tamil Nadu being put on high alert after inputs of terrorist threat from the coast, he said the state police has taken effective action in protecting the coasts.

Intelligence on terrorist threats are shared with the states. "Only recently, we shared intelligence inputs (of terrorist threat) with western states. And about a month ago, intelligence inputs were shared with Tamil Nadu," he said.

Tamil Nadu, he said, has strengthened coastal security through various measures, including setting up of coastal police stations.

Other Stories      - Sensex makes remarkable recovery, regains 17K - S C Kalia takes over as Union Bank ED - PNB may acquire majority stake in Kazakh bank - Maoist hindering land acquisition for Tata steel project: Raman - Koda says he will report to ED only after Jharkhand polls More

Tags : Chidambaram | Home Ministry | UT | ID-Cards | Question Hour   Read Business news in  Advertisements   Get financial advisory and solutions for your projects   Holidays starting at a delightful EMI of Rs 3481   Switch on and say hello to Monday morning !   Your dream home can now be a reality.   Visit Fortis for a preventive health check-up & get a 20% discount.   Follow the ups and downs of your investments. Try our new Portfolio Tracker   Kolkata Dock \ Freight contract for the British Gurkhas Nepal   Find how Midsize Businesses use ERP to gain competitive advantage   Trading in Forex is now as easy as 1-2-3   Discover an economical and cost effective way to market your products and services   Giftwithlove.com: Same day delivery of Flowers and Cakes to India   Download the E-book on the Future of Business Intelligence   Learn Best Practices for improving customer satisfaction   Know your customers better... download the free e-book on CRM