Bhopal: Thirteen districts in Madhya Pradesh have turned away the Army from carrying out its annual recruitment drives for fear of law and order issues. The Army says that unless this is resolved in a day or two, it will shift its MP vacancies to other states.This comes only weeks after the Air Force lodged its protest over shoddy arrangements at its recruitment drive that was being held in Bhopal after a long gap. Upset, IAF said it would rather move its recruitment to Chhattisgarh.Permission was denied to the Army because the local administrations feared that the arrival of thousands of youths from across the state may jeopardize law and order. It was only when harried Army officials warned the state government may have to surrender the MP quota to another state that the secretariat took notice, say sources.The district collectors were ordered to make necessary arrangements for recruitment, said sources. TOI has a copy of the home department's letter to IGs of Gwalior, Sehore, Chattarpur and Guna zones. The letter directs the five zones, covering 13 districts, to help in holding the recruitment drives.Sources say the Army Recruitment Office, Gwalior, sought permission to recruit in any of the 13 districts — Bhind, Morena, Sheopur, Gwalior, Datia, Shivpuri, Guna, Ashok Nagar, Sagar, Damoh, Panna, Chhatarpur and Tikamgarh. None of the district administrations agreed. The Gwalior administration denied permission because it feared a rerun of the law and order problem seen in the November 2014 recruitment rally where 30,000 youths participated. It has been seen that over 70,000 youths turn up at a recruitment office for 500 vacancies.Colonel Manish Chaturvedi, director of ARO Gwalior, has been camping in Bhopal for the past two days to somehow hold the rally. He said he had got assurance from senior home department officials that the recruitment rally can be held in Bhind. "Officials ensured they would pass the orders in this regard in a day or two. The administration has to make the necessary arrangements — including ground, tent, water and vehicles," said the officer. "After the assurance from the secretariat, I have spoken to Bhind collector. I hope things will be finalized in a few days or else the option of surrendering the vacancy may be considered. The recruitment will be carried out in December or latest by January," he added.There are four Army recruiting offices in MP. Sources say the Army faces hurdles in getting permission every year. In 2016, the matter reached the chief secretary.

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