Citizen-police panels to be revived to address law and order concerns in Delhi

The move, officials said, is aimed at bridging gaps in communication and trust between local police and residents

The Delhi government has begun the process of reviving citizen-police forums at the thana (police station) and district levels to improve coordination between the police and the public. A total of 179 thana-level committees (TLCs) and 15 district police committees (DPCs) are to be constituted across the city, officials said.

Citizen-police panels to be revived to address law and order concerns in Delhi

The move, officials said, is aimed at bridging gaps in communication and trust between local police and residents, particularly residents’ welfare associations (RWAs), market bodies, civil society representatives, and elected officials.

“The order has already been given for the formation of thana-level committees across all police stations in the city and also at the district-level. There is no deadline, but the process... has already been set in motion. These committees are likely to be formed within a couple of weeks. A direction regarding the constitution of these committees had recently come from the ministry of home affairs,” a senior Delhi government official said.

Thana-level committees will function at every police station and be chaired by the local MLA. According to documents reviewed by HT, each Thana-level committee is chaired by the local MLA and includes the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM), assistant commissioner of police (ACP), municipal officials, and representatives from RWAs, women’s groups, and traders’ associations. The total membership is capped at 15, with the station house officer (SHO) serving as the committee’s member-secretary.

Their mandate includes addressing everyday issues such as thefts, traffic congestion, neighbourhood disputes, and civic grievances. They are also expected to raise concerns about gaps in civic infrastructure — including poor street lighting or the absence of CCTV cameras — and promote awareness around women’s safety, cybercrime, and drug abuse.

District-level committees, meanwhile, will function as supervisory bodies and be set up across each of Delhi’s 15 police districts. These will be headed by local MPs and include MLAs, DCPs, other senior officers, and representatives from civil society. “They are designed to tackle broader policing and law-and-order challenges that span multiple police stations in a district,” an official said.

Delhi home minister Ashish Sood on Friday said the city government is reviving Thana-level committees to strengthen community policing and foster closer ties between citizens and the police. “These committees will empower people to participate in ensuring their own safety and security. Public involvement in crime prevention not only reinforces community policing but also helps build a police-public partnership aimed at creating a crime-free society,” Sood said.

Thana-level committees are required to meet every two months and are chaired by the local MLA, while ACP-rank officers often attend. The district-level bodies are expected to convene quarterly meetings and will be chaired by the area’s MP, with DCPs and other senior officials participating.

The TLCs were first introduced in 1995 during the tenure of former chief minister Madan Lal Khurana and remained functional for several years. “The committees bring police and people closer and improve trust. The police get real information about challenges that people, markets, and neighbourhoods are facing, while the public gets a platform to directly raise concerns,” said former home minister and BJP MLA Arvinder Singh Lovely. “

Their revival will play a big role in improving law and order and reducing petty crime,” he added.

The TLCs were scrapped in 2016 during the tenure of the then lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung. In September 2024, AAP MLAs had raised a demand in the Delhi Assembly to revive thana committees, citing a deteriorating law and order situation, but the proposal did not move forward at the time.

Lovely said the forums remained defunct for over a decade under the AAP government due to “a lack of trust between the AAP leadership and the administration”.

An AAP office-bearer alleged that the BJP-led central government had stalled the formation of Thana-level committees as 90% of Delhi’s MLAs belong to AAP. “They were afraid the committees would begin holding local police accountable at the police station level,” the leader said.