ROURKELA: The State Government has decided to form six new police stations and rationalise manpower in Odisha Police but key proposals including restructuring of Sundargarh Police District and introduction of Commisssionerate Police system continue to hang fire for years.
Restructuring of Sundargarh Police District was proposed around nine years back. Besides, conversion of Kuanrmunda, Nuagaon, Sargipali and Bandega police outposts into full-fledged police stations and formation of new police stations at Subdega and Mangaspur were suggested to strengthen rural policing and contain activities of criminals and People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI) in areas along Jharkhand-Sundargarh border.
A proposal for creation of ‘Jurisdiction co-terminus’ of police stations, block and tehsil is also pending. Nuagaon, Kuanrmunda, Subdega and few other blocks of SPD along with Koida, Bisra, Lahunipara, Gurundia, Bonai and Lathikata blocks under Rourkela Police District (RPD) face complex police jurisdiction.
Similarly, Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC) came into existence in November, 2014 and the Commissionerate system for the city is a mandatory provision. But, this proposal too has been dragging on for years. A senior police officer requesting anonymity said recently some clarifications were sought by the Government on the Police Commissionerate system.
DIG (Western Range) Kabita Jalan refused to comment on the pending proposals. About four years back, it was proposed to bifurcate the Rourkela Police District to create Rourkela Police Commissionerate comprising all urban police stations and two rural ones and create a new police district for the backward and Maoist-infested Bonai sub-division.The RPD jurisdiction covers 12 urban, two semi-urban and 10 rural police stations.