Mumbai to get better policing, communication

After Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan’s admission that he could not contact the Mumbai police commissioner for 15 minutes after the three bomb blasts on Wednesday, the state government has decided on a plan for easy communication access to key persons during such emergencies.

The state information technology directorate has been asked to explore options, including use of satellite telephones, very high frequency (VHF) ranges of radio spectrum and video conferencing by key persons, including the chief minister, deputy chief minister, home minister, director general of police and Mumbai police commissioner during any such crisis.

Further, the government would expedite construction of a fire-proof and blast-proof control room for providing state of the art communications and other sophisticated equipment. The proposed room would come up on land available just behind the 150-year-old offices of the Mumbai police commissionerate.

The government would also speed installation of 5,000 closed circuit televisions (CCTVs) by March 2012, with an expenditure of Rs 300 crore. So far, 100 such CCTVs have been installed and operationalised. PricewaterhouseCoopers is advising the government on installation. During a crisis, the government wants to connect CCTVs installed by private parties, including those in malls, cinema houses and hotels, to connect with the regional control room. These are some of the recommendations made by a committee headed by former Union home secretary Ram Pradhan after the November 2008 (‘26/11’) terrorist attack. However, they were not implemented.

Umesh Chandra Sarangi, state additional chief secretary (home) told Business Standard: “The government will seriously focus on the improvement in connectivity during crisis. CCTVs will be used at both private and public locations and they will be connected to regional control rooms.” Further, he informed, the government would create a separate cadre of officers in the intelligence wing of the state police. A state of the art Maharashtra Intelligence Academy has been set up at Pune to train personnel.

Sarangi clarified that after 26/11, regular intelligence sharing meetings were being taken under his chairmanship and intelligence inputs from various sources discussed. “The intelligence gathering from grassroots will also be strengthened. The identity of persons sharing crucial inputs will be kept secret,” he said.

On the slow pace of modernisation of the police force, Sarangi said the government had spent nearly Rs 1,000 crore during the past eight to nine years to improve mobility of the force, strengthen weaponry, provide communication equipment and ensure application of information technology in day to day work. “A plan of Rs 197 crore for modernisation of the police force for 2011-12 has been presented to the Centre. Nearly 75 per cent will come from the Centre, while the state government’s contribution will be 25 per cent,” he informed.