Maharashtra to increase budget allocation for security

Nagpur, Dec 15: The Maharashtra government would increase the allocation for security in the forthcoming budget, Deputy Chief Minister R. R. Patil, who also holds the Home portfolio, told the state Legislative Council today.

Replying to a discussion on a motion from the opposition, Mr Patil said that Maharashtra spent only about 3.7 per cent of its budget on security, which was far below the national average of 5.3 per cent.'' It was unfortunate that nobody discussed the issue although it was extremely important, he said.

Admitting that the state's police force was 'understaffed and over-burdened,' Mr Patil said the average policeman put in 14 hours of work every day, and that 70 per cent of the force did not get even a day off for stretches of up to three months.

The force was short of 55,000 men, and the government was recruiting 11,000 personnel into the police department every year in an effort to bridge the gap, the Deputy Chief Minister said.

Asserting that poor housing facility for the police would soon be a thing of the past, he said that the government had chalked out a new plan to improve the working conditions of the force, which included better salaries and reduction in the workload.

The Maharashtra police had done a better job in countering the naxal menace than other similarly affected states, Mr Patil asserted.

Praising the state police for their performance, Mr Patil said credit must be given where due. Even other states had admired the performance of the Maharashtra police, he said, and pointed out that the Gujarat government had announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh to the men and officers who gunned down three terrorists who tried to storm into the headquarters of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Nagpur on June 1 last.

Initiating the discussion yesterday, Leader of the Opposition Panduarang Phundkar expressed concern over the seizure of arms and ammunition in various parts of the state and reports of the existence of similar stocks at other places. This was a serious threat to security, he said.

Foreigners were settling down in Maharashtra in large numbers, he said, adding that the government must make its stand clear on the issue.

Others who participated in the discussion were Neelam Gorhe, Diwakar Rawate, Deepak Sawant, Parshuram Uparkar (all Shiv Sena), Sanjay Kelkar, Keshvrao Mankar (BJP), Usha Darade (NCP) and S. Q.

Zama (Congress).

UNI