BHUBANESWAR: The Home department has flagged major shortcomings in the State Police Headquarters’ proposal to bifurcate the Bhubaneswar Urban Police District (UPD) into east and west units, questioning the need for additional posts and seeking detailed justification from Director General of Police (DGP) YB Khurania.
In a letter to the DGP, the Home department pointed out that the proposal lacks crucial data on sanctioned strength, men in position (MIP) and vacancies in the Bhubaneswar UPD as well as across the state, making it difficult to assess whether the proposed expansion is warranted.
“Without this data, it is not possible to assess if additional posts are required to meet a genuine structural shortfall or whether filling existing vacancies would suffice. Creation of new posts amidst unfilled vacancies will widen the vacancy position further,” the letter from the department said.
The Home department also questioned the grounds cited by Police Headquarters for bifurcation, observing that most of the challenges highlighted in the proposal relate to temporary and periodic duties such as VVIP visits, national and international events and festival bandobast, all of which have been handled by the existing UPD for years.
It further noted that situations arising out of communal tensions, student unrest and eviction drives are contingency-based and not unique to Bhubaneswar.
“The proposal does not explain how police force is currently arranged for each category of event cited,” the department said, while asking whether the existing mechanism of requisitioning personnel from Police Headquarters and other districts had ever failed.
Seeking evidence to support the proposed restructuring, the Home department asked Police Headquarters to furnish details on the proportion of working days Bhubaneswar UPD personnel spend on non-routine duties compared to regular policing responsibilities.
It also sought a comparative analysis of crime rates in other police districts, saying such data was necessary to determine whether Bhubaneswar’s crime situation warranted a structural expansion that was not considered necessary elsewhere in the state.
The department further questioned the basis of the revised proposal to divide the UPD on an east-west axis. Earlier, the Finance department had agreed to creation of 87 posts for bifurcation of the UPD on a north-south basis, but the proposal did not receive the state government’s approval.
Raising concerns over the manpower implications of the fresh proposal, the Home department noted that it does not mention abolition or surrender of any existing posts despite seeking creation of 98 new ones.
“It must be specified whether any existing posts are proposed to be abolished or surrendered in lieu of the 98 new proposed posts,” the letter stated.
Last year, Police Commissioner S Dev Datta Singh had proposed bifurcation of Bhubaneswar UPD into east and west units to be headed by a Deputy Commissioner of Police each, citing rising crime, economic offences, law and order challenges, VIP movements and increasing traffic congestion in the capital city.