KOCHI: The police establishments in Ernakulam district have been sanctioned Rs 18 crore for various projects under the state police modernisation fund, with the Integrated Police Complex in Kochi getting top priority. The complex is a long-cherished dream of the Kochi City police, having waited for over 12 years for its own Commissionerate proposed to be set up near the High Court junction.According to details available, Rs 15 crore has been granted to complete the construction of the hi-tech Kochi City Police Complex by 2023.
A special working group, which met last month, approved the proposal submitted by the state police chief seeking allocation for major police infrastructure projects across Kerala. The estimated cost of the Integrated Police Complex is Rs 38 crore. In 2020-21, J8 crore was set aside in the budget. Another Rs 15 crore will be granted in the next phase, as construction progresses, sources said.
The project will see the entire police establishment in Kochi coming under one roof. The various branches are now operating from rented facilities, including the commissioner’s office that functions on one floor of the Revenue Tower on Shanmugham Road.
“The supervision of the project has been entrusted with the city police commissioner. Various proposals had been submitted for the project, the latest of which was released by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in 2019. When the old Commissionerate was demolished at that time, the plan was to construct a new building with an estimated cost of around Rs 10 crore. The current cost estimation is J38 crores. If the project is kept pending, the cost will escalate,” a senior official with the Kerala Police Housing and Construction Corporation told TNIE.
The initial delay was related to environmental clearance to construct a highrise building for which the proposed plan was altered. Later, there was disparity about the concept of a police office-cum-commercial complex. Then it was decided to construct an Integrated Police Complex avoiding commercial establishments inside. The last issue to plague the project was related to funding, which has now been solved to a certain extend.
Among other projects, Rs 90 lakh has been sanctioned for the construction of the Ernakulam Rural district police chief’s office. The Ernakulam Rural police has been allotted Rs 20 lakh for setting up a District Training Centre. A camp office will be set up for the Kochi Range DIG, for which Rs 35 lakh has been sanctioned.
Other state police agencies, like the Crime Branch and the Special Branch —the state intelligence wing — has also received funds for construction activities. While the Special Branch gets Rs 50 lakh for establishing a permanent office in Kochi, the Crime Branch gets Rs 20 lakh for its Kochi office.
“The State Special Branch is one of the premier agencies of the Kerala police. But it has no permanent office in Kochi. It was functioning from a private building on SRM Road. That building was vacated after its owner threatened legal action because of pending rent dues. The office was then shifted to Thripunithura and later moved to Eroor. Now, an office is being constructed on land donated by a private person in the City. Hopefully, the plan will not change again,” a police officer said.
The Kochi Cyber Dome has been granted J50 lakh to purchase equipment and to train officials. The Cyber Dome will also be training teachers and students to curb cybercrimes. A fund of Rs 25 lakh was sanctioned for the expansion of the Regional Forensic Science Laboratory at Kakkanad.
A Central Custodial Facilitation Centre will be set up in Kochi and four other police districts in the state. Towards that end, Rs 20 lakh each was granted to the respective police districts. A Knowledge Repository Centre, having a large database of police activities, will also be started with a fund of Rs 10 lakh in Kochi.