Police get Rs127 cr to upgrade their arsenal

The state cabinet on Sunday, cleared at one go proposals worth Rs127 crore to give Mumbai police more teeth in the wake of 26/11 attacks. The money would be used to buy sophisticated weaponry and  to upgrade the security systems in the financial capital.

The government also gave Mumbai police the nod to recruit 40-odd officers in cyber-security and intelligence cell immediately, skirting the MPSC route. The cabinet accorded administrative and financial clearance to the police department for this one-off recruitment process.

With the proposals cleared, Mumbai police could now buy modern and sophisticated weapons, set up coastal police stations and procure boats and dinghies to carry out surveillance along the coastline.

The cabinet clearance to security proposals came on the eve of the winter session of the Maharashtra legislature starting in Nagpur on Monday. Even as the new proposals got cleared, chief minister Ashok Chavan expressed his displeasure over the non-utilisation of funds by the department of home, an issue that has put former home minister RR Patil in the dock.

“I have already voiced my displeasure. The government will find out who is at fault and fix up the responsibility,” the chief minister told a crowded news conference Sunday evening. “It’s true that money allocated to the home department has remained unutilised.”

Home minister Jayant Patil said a couple of days ago that half the funds received from the Centre for modernisation of the police force remained unused.