In a course-correction move, the Centre is soon to revive the fund for police modernisation.
In a course-correction move, the Centre is soon to revive the fund for police modernisation. Union home minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday informed the Lok Sabha that the government is ready with a Cabinet note on police modernisation and necessary funds would be earmarked.
Incidentally, the Centre had earlier not earmarked any fund under the plan head for police modernisation; it was apparently of the view that since the state governments were getting a higher share of the revenue from the tax pool, they would be able to spend on police modernisation.
Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge had sought to know during Question Hour whether police modernisation in the states had taken a back seat because of non-allocation of funds under the plan head for the scheme which was initiated when Mr L.K. Advani was home minister.
He stated that the scheme worked with 75 per cent of the funds committed by the Centre and the rest 25 per cent given by the state government. “We are ready with the Cabinet note, and soon a decision will be taken in this regard. The scheme will work as it had been earlier,” said Mr Singh in his reply to Mr Kharge.
NCP MP Supriya Sule raised a question wanting to know what steps the government is taking to address the issue of suicide by police personnel. Union minister of state for home Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary said 109 Central police personnel committed suicide in 2015. He said that in most cases domestic and personal problems were the causes for suicide.
