Bhubaneswar: The state government recently sanctioned additional Rs 17.5 crore to the state police department by increasing the annual contingency fund for the police stations across the state. The government took the step to provide better services under the ‘Mo Sarkar’ initiative. The raising of contingency fund was welcomed by all as it has been considered a boon for the cash-strapped police department of the state.
However, recent data released by the Bureau of Police Research and Development reveals that the budgetary allocation for police department has been lowest in the state among all the states and union territories of the country.
After delay of almost two years, the BPRD have recently released its flagship annual publication, Data on Police Organisations (DoPO 2018).
The report comprises a comprehensive data on the infrastructure of the state and central police forces including strength of police force to availability of wireless facilities at the police stations till January 2018.
The report revealed that the state government earmarked Rs 3286.49 crores for the police department out of the total budget of `412481 crores in the financial year 2017-18. On the other hand, the state had released Rs 2,799.59 crore for the state police force out of the total budget of Rs 250075.72 crores in 2016-17.
As per the data available in the report, Odisha continues to top the list of the states with lowest budgetary allocation regarding the percentage of annual budget allocated for the police department in both 2016-17 and 2017-18.
Odisha earmarked 1.12 percent of the annual budget for police in 2016-17 while it reduces to just 0.80 percent of the annual budget in 2017-18.
Meanwhile, the real expenditure of the police department remained lower than the money sanctioned in both the financial years. The expenditure on the training of police personnel (1.33%) out of the total budgetary allocation for state police force was also among the lowest in the country in 2017-18.
Similarly, the tentative data shows that the state police utilised only Rs 2277.69 crores (68.78 per cent) out of the total grant of Rs 3311.62 crores it received from both the state and central government under scheme for modernisation of police force in 2017-18.
As per the report, as many as 1243 departmental disciplinary proceedings were initiated against police personnel of the state for various reasons of malpractice or crime in 2017. The total number cases awaiting proceedings reached to 2847 that includes the cases pending (1613) from the previous year.
As many as 721 cases against erring police officials in the state were disposed off in 2017 while guilty police personnel in around 75 per cent (2126) cases are yet to face departmental action.
This apart, the state witnessed a rise of just 4.50 percent regarding the number of women staff in the state police force, which falls way behind the 33 per cent reservation for ladies, as compared to the significant increase in the national average of around 21 percent in 2017.
The report also reveals that the state police lack enough CCTV cameras, speedometers, breath analyzers as compared to other states. Around 40 police stations, 57 outposts, one range office, six SDPO offices and two reserve police line offices have been operating from hired buildings.
However, the report highlights the increasing satisfaction among the lower subordinate cops in relation to the availability of accommodations in 2017 as compared to a lower percentage of satisfaction in 2016.
Meanwhile, speaking to Orissa POST, Former Director General of State Police, Bipini Bihari Mishra said, “The state government wishes to make the police department more efficient without spending anything on the development of infrastructure and human resource of the force. It is also reluctant to supply the police stations with the patrolling vehicles which the department has been procuring from public sector units like National Aluminium Company (NALCO).”
“Why should the NALCO supply vehicles to the Commissionerate Police under the CSR fund instead of spending the same funds for the development of areas near its factories at Angul and Damanjodi? It is the duty of the state government, and not the PSUs, to look after the infrastructural development of the state police force,” added Mishra.