In a move to improve the infrastructure of the police department, chief minister J. Jayalalithaa on Tuesday announced a Rs 1,000 crore package, to be invested over the next four years, for infrastructure development.
Replying to the debate on the home department demands for grants in the Assembly, Ms Jayalalithaa said for the next four years, Rs 250 crore a year would be allocated in addition to the normal budgetary allocation, for infrastructure improvement.
“Through this measure, the infrastructure facilities of the department will be improved in a futuristic manner,” she said.
Ms Jayalalithaa said 30,000 police personnel would be recruited and 19,620 new posts created in the next four years.
“To increase the police strength on a par with the growing population, 19,620 new posts would be created,” she said, adding that the recruitment would be done through the uniformed service recruitment board.
She said the recruitment would help improve police efficiency and let them focus more on law and order and crime prevention.
She said police training schools would be opened in every district headquarters at a cost of `30 crore considering the need for training 15,000 personnel this year.
She said the existing eight police training colleges have a capacity to train only 3,000 recruits.
The chief minister also proposed establishing a Tamil Nadu industrial security force (TNISF), saying deployment of police personnel for security in banks and some Central government offices had resulted in staff shortage in the law and order department and crime investigation.
“To fulfil the needs of these firms, the proposed TNISF will function under a police officer. It will take up security work for banks and other firms for a fee,” she said, adding that retired army and police officers will train its members.
Ms Jayalalithaa announced the establishment of a state police master control room to enable emergency deployment of the force in any part of the state and continuously monitor its functioning.
“All police stations and their vehicles and highway patrol vehicles will be linked to the control room through digital-based microwave link,” she said.
She also announced sanctioning of digital-based police radio system for Chennai and Tiruchy commissionerates at a cost of `30.45 crore.
Providing bullet-proof jackets to officers, setting up of communication towers and formation of cyber lab were the other announcements made by the chief minister.