Govt's no to more police stations and PCR vans

Thanks to the union government's preference for 'austerity', the Capital will continue to suffer from lack of adequate security in and around vital installations such as district courts, Metro stations and semi-urban villages. Jatin Anand and Karn Pratap Singh report.

Thanks to the union government's preference for 'austerity', the Capital will continue to suffer from lack of adequate security in and around vital installations such as district courts, Metro stations and semi-urban villages.

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As per a letter shot off by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to the Delhi Police on Monday, the austerity measures which the finance ministry is avowed to has also left the procurement of more PCR vans in a limbo.

"Since we cannot write to the Finance Ministry directly, we had, through the MHA, requested funds for the creation of 20 police stations- both territorial as well as for Metro stations. In addition, we demanded the creation of more posts of police personnel for the security of the Rohini, Saket, Dwarka and Karkardooma district courts," said an officer, requesting anonymity.

The said proposal had been sent to the MHA in May 2012. Apart from seeking funds for around 370 new PCR vans, it had reiterated the police's demand to recruit 2,500 more personnel solely for deployment across Metro and railways stations - a proposal which had first been sent to the Union Home Ministry in mid-2010.

All these proposals - meant to increase police visibility and add efficiency to police functioning - were rejected by the Finance Ministry till the end of last week before the MHA was informed and the news of the decision trickled down to the Delhi Police.

"While there are just 205 police personnel of varying ranks posted across these Metro police stations and are required to cater to around 20 lakh commuters on a daily basis, the Indian Railways see the deployment of around 600 personnel at five railway stations," the officer admitted.

The police said they are currently forced to seek manpower from local police stations located near a railway or Metro station to supplement deployment - leaving the latter with less manpower if and when a contingency arises.

Highly-placed sources said the matter had been put up to the MHA yet again with a request to prevail upon the Finance Ministry to reconsider.