Kharghar cops work from rented residential flat

Even as the crime rate rises in the hub of Navi Mumbai, policemen are jostling for space in an apartment that has no lock-up or room to store records, as the construction of their permanent office building lies in limbo

The satellite city of Navi Mumbai has been growing at an exponential rate, and crime rates have gone up in proportion to the burgeoning population that comes hand in hand with development, especially in Kharghar.




Space jam: The building which houses the rented flat from which
Kharghar cops operate. Cops sit in a corner of the building's staircase
and register complaints. They grumble that it is difficult for them to
carry out their work in the space provided

Cops stationed at the node of this satellite city, however, have no space to stash their weapons or even lock up criminals when they are caught, as they have been operating out of a rented residential apartment. Needless to say, it is completely ill-suited to the department's needs. Way back in 2009, Ashok Chavan, the former chief minister of the state, had laid the foundation stone for the planned building that would house the Kharghar police station.

Host of problems
The building was scheduled to be completed by the end of 2010 by the City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO). However, CIDCO has failed to even start the construction work of the proposed police station, located near Kharghar square on the Sion-Panvel highway.

In the absence of a permanent building to accommodate them, police officials have been facing a host of problems. The residential building lacks a custody area, a records room, an arms and weapons room, not to mention lack of space to operate in.

While registering complaints, police officials are forced to sit near the staircase. Kharghar police have been urging officials at CIDCO to speed up construction work for almost two years now. Kiran Patil, senior police inspector of Kharghar police station, said "We need a new building for our police station, as we are operating under great difficulty in the current situation. We have been pursuing the issue with CIDCO, so it should construct the building as early as possible."

At present, the Kharghar police station is manned by 75 cops who jostle for space in the cramped quarters.
The actual requirement in keeping with the current population in the area is 110 cops. CIDCO cited a list of factors that had led to the delay of the station's construction, promising that the station would be built by October 2013.

Kiran Phanse, superintendent engineer of CIDCO, said, "Basically, we needed more time to design and plan the new building, and there was also some issues with clearance. Now we are ready with the plan, and construction will be started by the end of March this year. The construction of the 676 square metre police station will be finished by October next year."