90 pc of police funds spent on salaries, ration

Expenditure on salary and ration eat up the maximum of the budget allocation earmarked for the Central police forces and police organisations under the Union Home Ministry, a Parliamentary panel has found.

It has also noted that modernisation suffers due to insufficient funding. 

The Standing Committee on Home Affairs, headed by Congress MP P Bhattacharya, has called this “shocking” in its latest report on Demands on Grants tabled in Parliament recently.

“The committee is shocked to note that out of total allocation under Demand No 55, 89.13 per cent is utilised for salaries and ration, and only 10.87 per cent is meant for important schemes/projects, viz modernisation of the police forces, security related expenditure, CCTNS, research, etc,” noted the panel noted.

Demand No 55 is the most important head under budget allocation for the Home Ministry, and pertains to the expenditure of the paramilitary forces, the National Intelligence Grid, the Delhi Police, the Intelligence Bureau, the NIA and other bodies, and schemes under the modernisation of the police.

Budget allocation

The 2014-15 budget had allocated Rs 59,450.76 crore under this head, while in the revised estimates, it had come down to Rs 56,372.45 crore. In the budget allocation for 2015-16, Rs 62,124.52 crore has been earmarked under this head.The panel said it is of the view that the share of important components under this should be “progressively increased” in the coming years for “maintaining operational efficiency”.

The panel also found fault with the Finance Ministry for “drastically” reducing the allocation for housing of police personnel by half under Demand No 55, saying it would adversely affecting their housing needs.