Thousands of Temporary Manpower to Fill Vacant Police Constable Posts in Mumbai: Fadnavis
Mumbai, 27th July 2023: Due to approximately ten thousand vacant police constable positions in the Mumbai Police Force, the Maharashtra state government has taken steps to address the issue by hiring three thousand temporary employees through an external mechanism.
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis assured the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday that the manpower will be provided by the State Security Corporation and will be assigned to security and guard duties, specifically for static and guarding responsibilities. He also emphasized that there will be no contract recruitment within the police force.
The decision to provide 3,000 manpower services from the State Security Corporation to the Mumbai Police Force was issued by the Home Department on July 24, 2023, to address the shortage of personnel. However, the opposition raised objections regarding the contract recruitment during the Legislative Council session on Tuesday. Responding to these concerns, Fadnavis provided a detailed statement in the Assembly on Wednesday.
Presently, there are around 10,000 vacant constable posts in the Mumbai Police Force due to regular retirements and inter-district transfers, coupled with no police recruitment in the years 2019, 2020, and 2021. The situation was further exacerbated by the unfortunate loss of 500 policemen to diseases, accidents, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
To address the manpower shortage, the government has approved the filling of 14,956 police constable posts and 2,174 posts in the driver cadre and state reserve police force. The recruitment process for a total of 18,331 posts is currently underway, with 7,076 constable and 994 driver cadre posts intended for the Mumbai Police Commissionerate. However, some positions will still remain vacant.
Given that the entire recruitment process and training are expected to take around one and a half to two years, the Police Commissioner requested the State Security Corporation to provide three thousand manpower on April 17, 2023. The state government has now approved this request.
It’s important to note that the temporary manpower services will be provided for the duration of direct recruitment or for a maximum of 11 months. Once regular police constables are available after the completion of recruitment and training, the services of the temporary manpower provided through the external system will end.
Fadnavis clarified that these temporary employees will not be involved in law enforcement or investigation work. He assured the legislators that the option of utilizing trained personnel from the Thackeray Group, as proposed by MLA Adv. Anil Parab, will also be considered, provided that any legal issues are addressed.
