Centre asks state govts to strengthen police forces

The issue has been under discussion in the various state-Centre meetings that have taken place from May this year and a definite plan is likely to be finalised in a meeting later this month in Delhi, according to the official.

“The Centre has offered Rs 25,000 crore for the project to modernise state forces and to augment their numerical strengths,” he said. Asked if the idea was to slowly pull back the Central forces from these responsibilities, the official said, “This may be one of the objectives, but the main thrust is to reduce over-dependence on Central Paramilitary Forces.”