'20 pc quota for women police cops'

Home Minister K J George has said that around 20 per cent of posts will be reserved for women while recruiting the police constables. 

Speaking to mediapersons, after inaugurating the coastal security police station at Padubidri built at a cost of Rs 46 lakh, the home minister said that the recruitment process in the police force is taken up on priority in order to overcome the shortage of police personnel. Until now, only 10 per cent of posts were reserved for women. 

He said as many as 8,500 police personnel are recruited in the process of the strengthening the police force in state. Around 22,000 posts are lying vacant in the police department, of which  500 to 600 posts of police sub inspectors have remained unfilled.

The recruitment is taken up as a yearly programme. In order to fill the gap, as the police personnel need 18 months of training to take up the assignment, the chief minister has directed to recruit 7,000 home guards. They are newly taken up and the honorarium to home guards has been hiked to Rs 250 in rural areas and Rs 300 in urban areas. The government is contemplating over increasing the honorarium.

The Minister said that peace and order is intact in the state. However, the opposition is levelling allegations. He added that government has released Rs 9 crore to revamp the ANF camps. There are 13 ANF camps in the state, he added.

Earlier, inaugurating the coastal police station, the home minister said that the coastal police security is upgraded following the increasing terror activities all through the east coast. There are nine coastal security police stations in the coastal stretch in the state.

The tribal are also given prominence by relaxing the criteria concerning physical qualities to recruit them into the police force. He said the government will not spare corrupt police officials, however the government will always encourage the sincere officials. 

Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs Abhaychandra Jain said that he will hold talks with Union Minister over the fund release for the Hejamdi-Kodi port. The government has released Rs 150 crore for the construction of port in Kulai and the work will commence shortly. The environment clearance has been received.

A total of Rs 2.70 crore is released to repair the fisheries stretches in Padubidri area. The work to revamp the fisheries connecting stretches will be taken up, he addedMinister for Urban Development Vinay Kumar Sorake said the main office of the district coastal security police will be set up in Malpe at a cost of Rs 100 crore.