Natgrid can prevent terror attacks: Chidambaram

Chidambaram said that the National Intelligence Grid can help prevent 26/11-type terror attacks

Asserting that one day skeptics will come to realise National Intelligence Grid was necessary, Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Friday said Natgrid can prevent another 26/11-type attack.

Allaying fears on sensitive data leak, Chidambaram said there was no way an unauthorised person could misuse Natgrid, which was okayed on June 6. "No unauthorised person will have access to Natgrid data," the home minister told Headlines Today Executive Editor Rahul Kanwal in an exclusive interview. He said chances of data leak exist, but they are remote.

Chidambaram also said fears that the data can be used against citizens were unfounded. "Natgrid will not encroach on privacy. There are a large number of safeguards," he said.

"Headley could have been caught if we had Natgrid," Chidambaram said, adding, while the security system could prevent another 26/11-like attacks, mistakes in the most wanted list could have been avoided because of Natgrid.

Speaking for the first time on a project, which he mooted post 26/11, Chidambaram said the concerns raised by the ministries of finance and defence had been addressed.

Responding to a question as to what led to the delay in giving clearance to the project, Chidambaram said while for the most part complacency could be blamed, officials are fearful of new knowledge and technique.

"The art of governance is to overcome fears. You will not master the unknown until you step into it," the home minister said.

Saying that every major country has a Natgrid-like security system, Chidambaram said the 'carefully screened' data would make probe agencies' task much easier. In the case of most wanted list, Natgrid would have tracked the CBI, the NIA and Mumbai Police records and could have stopped the blooper, he argued.

The Natgrid will create a centralised database for sharing of information by security and law enforcement agencies to combat terror threats within and outside the country.