Exclusive: Maintaining Law & Order In Pune Challenging Due To Shortage Of Police Personnel, Says Joint CP Ranjan Kumar Sharma

The Maharashtra Home Department recently allocated ₹60 crore for the construction of seven new police stations in the city. Of the ₹60 crore, the government has sanctioned ₹7.50 crore for Kharadi police station, ₹8.81 crore for Phursungi, ₹8.60 crore for Nanded City, ₹8.75 crore for Wagholi, ₹8.60 crore for Baner, ₹7.09 crore for Ambegaon, and ₹10.24 crore for Kalepadal police station.

Meanwhile, for these seven police stations, an additional 816 police personnel have been sanctioned, which according to Joint Commissioner of Police Ranjan Kumar Sharma is much lower than what they had demanded. Speaking to The Free Press Journal, Sharma said, "We had demanded a manpower of 1,700. However, in the initial stage, 816 police personnel have been sanctioned for the seven new police stations. To curb the crime rate and solve the cases early, Pune City needs more manpower. Our main aim is to provide an efficient team for public service and decrease the crime rate in the city."

The Joint CP drew comparisons with Mumbai and said that it has five times more police personnel in comparison to Pune. "If we talk about the geographical area, Pune City is bigger than Mumbai. However, the population of Mumbai is nearly 2 crore and Pune is about 70-80 lakh. Meanwhile, when we compare the police personnel, Mumbai has 55,000 and Pune City has only 9,000 which is a kind of challenge to maintain law and order. As per the norms, there should at least be one police station for around two lakh population. Besides, there should be at least one police personnel for 300 people," he added.

"Initially, the newly sanctioned police stations will operate from one of the existing police chowkys. Later, we can take some private land to build them," Sharma further said.