Help desk needs helping hand

A small information help desk outside the Delhi Police headquarters at ITO is now at the centre of controversy with officers questioning its requirement even before its inauguration and the Public Work Department (PWD) saying it was built without permission.

A small information help desk outside the Delhi Police headquarters at ITO is now at the centre of controversy with officers questioning its requirement even before its inauguration and the Public Work Department (PWD) saying it was built without permission.

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Initiated days before the retirement of former police commissioner BK Gupta, the booth was built at a cost of Rs 6 lakh. Senior officers said it was built to help the common public who visit the office every day with various complaints.

The booth is just in front of the main gate and the common public is not allowed beyond this point. “We have built the booth to provide information to people who visit the headquarters. The booth will have pamphlets containing information about Delhi and Delhi Police. It is a temporary structure,” Sudhir Yadav, Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic) said.

Sources said R6 lakh has been spent on this booth but the PWD was not informed about the construction, which is mandatory.

“The building belongs to PWD and for any construction in and around it, the Delhi Police need to take our permission. The structure is illegal and they should remove it immediately,” a PWD official said.

The PWD had written a letter to DCP (land and building) of Delhi Police raising its objection but it is yet to get any reply. “The letter was sent on June 28. We said without taking a no-objection certificate from the PWD, the Delhi Police cannot carry the construction work,” the officer added.

Sources said the booth was scheduled to be inaugurated by the former commissioner on June 30, the day he was retired from Delhi Police.

But since the PWD had already raised its objection, the inauguration was postponed and work was stopped.

Yadav said the booth was built to help the common public and it would be thrown open once work is over. “Some works are still left and it will be completed within a week,” he added.