Proposal on new police posts hangs fire

AHMEDABAD, Dec 5: A state police department proposal for creation of 25 posts of sub-divisional police officers SDPOs is hanging fire de...

AHMEDABAD, Dec 5: A state police department proposal for creation of 25 posts of sub-divisional police officers SDPOs is hanging fire despite the Chief Minister8217;s office clearing it in principle around six months ago.

The problem is that the home department wants to co-relate the posts with the jurisdiction of sub-divisional magistrate SDM but the police department finds it difficult to do so due to the requirements of contiguity.

Co-relation of the two posts means that there should exist an SDM wherever an SDPO is required to be appointed so that both can work in harmony. But there aren8217;t many places in the State where an SDPO can be posted in this manner.

Additional Chief Secretary V V Rama Subba Rao confirmed that the State Government had received the proposal for SDPOs but said it could be cleared only after certain technical problems were removed.

Director General of Police C P Singh said the proposals would be cleared and included in this year8217;s budget.

Police officials pointed out that before creating a new police station or a new post of SDPO, seven parameters had to be considered. These include existence of a commissionerate, degree of communal sensitivity in the area, traffic, crime rate, industrialisation, and law and order besides, of course, the national security angle. The parameters for the SDM8217;s post do not share any of these parameters, except law and order, with SDPO.

At present, the police department has 52 SDPOs and another 25 are sought to be added through this proposal. On the other hand, there are 49 SDMs and the Government plans to add eight more. Sources said that since it was difficult to co-relate the two posts at many places, the police department had re-worked the proposal though the chances of this scheme working were still remote.

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Explaining the problems, a senior police official said the police department wanted to appoint two SDPOs at Kevadia Colony but since one SDPO was already posted there and one at Rajpipla, the government felt that there was no need for a second SDPO at Kevadia. Rather, but it suggested that one be created in the district where there is a SDM.

Another example the officer cited was of Amreli where there were two SDPOs, one each at Amreli and Dhari. In the new proposal, one more is suggested for Savarkundla. But the SDMs are posted at Amreli and Rajula. He said the Governments may think the need for a SDPO at Rajula, but keeping the seven parameters Savarkundla needed an SDPO and not Rajula. Similar was the case in Jamnagar where two big industrial units were coming up.

Sources in the department criticised the delay in creation of the posts. They felt that at least in places where the two posts were co-related, clearance should have been given.