Not enough being done for police personnel and police stations

There are only 5.8 lakh houses for 17.3 lakh police personnel in the country, point out MPs in Parliament. Is the Government listening?



Photo by Priyanka Parashar/Mint via Getty Images
Photo by Priyanka Parashar/Mint via Getty Images
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NH Political Bureau

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke of a ‘SMART’ police, an acronym for 'Strict and sensitive, Modern and mobile, Alert and accountable, Reliable and responsible and Techno-savvy and trained’.


But SMART police remains only on paper and has been reduced to a ‘jumla’, said KC Ramamurthy, Congress member in the Rajya Sabha.


CPM Member, Jharna Das Vaidya, referred to the Bureau of Police Research & Development (BPR&D) report to point out that Manipur has 43 police stations without phones or wireless sets, the maximum for any state while Chhattisgarh has 161 police stations without vehicles. Madhya Pradesh has 111 police stations without any telephone line. The BPR&D comes under the Home Ministry.


Ramamurthy lamented that the President’s address or the budget had made virtually no reference to policing, despite warning signs that internal security is in a precarious state.


Voicing their concern over the state of police stations in the country, the Members pointed out that BPR&D figures revealed there were only 10.13 vehicles for 100 policemen at the national level.


The other points raised in the House were:

  • About 92% of the police force comprise of head constables, constables and Assistant Sub-Inspectors who are voiceless.
  • There are 25-30% vacancies in the police force. Consequently, they are not able to allot duties properly, nor is leave granted.
  • A police constable or a head constable or an ASI or SI or an Inspector hardly gets any training after the initial round. Refresher courses are required at every level.
  • Also the police have to face terrorists, Naxals and other anti-national elements. However, not many states have a system of training policemen often or equipping them with the knowledge of latest laws or new weaponry.
  • Police constables or head constables, in urban areas particularly, are the least preferred when it comes to getting a private house on rent. There are only 5.8 lakh houses as against the requirement of 17.3 lakh houses.
  • There’s a benevolent fund in all states for the police’s welfare activities. However, it is policemen who themselves contribute to it every month. The government needs to pitch in.
  • From 1961, 30,000 policemen have lost their lives in their line of duty. They should be treated as martyrs.
  • A lot of police stations have been attacked and policemen have been killed. Police are robbed of their weapons in the police station. Proper police stations need to be built with proper equipment provided.

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Published: 09 Feb 2017, 5:52 PM