Nagpur: There are 447 vacant posts in the Nagpur City Police, and 391 more posts still need to be filled, according to Commissioner of Police (CP) Dr Ravinder Kumar Singal. He shared this information with the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court during a hearing on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL).
Taking a note of the accidents caused by potholes on Nagpur roads, the High Court initiated a suo motu criminal Public Interest Litigation (PIL). The hearing on this matter took place on Wednesday before Justice Nitin Sambre and Justice Vrushali Joshi.
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The Court has asked CP Dr Singal to send a proposal to the Director General of Police (DGP) Maharashtra Police about these vacant posts. The High Court also instructed the DGP to consider the Police Commissioner’s proposal.
During a previous hearing, the court had asked whether the traffic police branch had sufficient manpower to resolve traffic issues. If not, the court could ask the State Government to fill the vacancies. Accordingly, the CP submitted an affidavit providing the information.
However, the court ordered a detailed report on the vacant positions and the required new positions during the last hearing. The Commissioner provided this information on Wednesday, stating that 447 approved positions remain vacant and 391 new positions need to be created and filled. Thus, the city currently requires a total of 838 additional police officers and staff, as clarified by the Top Cop.
The High Court had started the PIL in 2020 due to accidents caused by potholes on roads in Nagpur. On July 24, 2024, the Court asked Police Commissioner Dr Singal to provide information about the police staff available in the city. A special committee formed by the High Court is working hard to address issues like road accidents, delays in road construction, and citizen problems.
Dr Singal also mentioned that the Smart City Authority has installed 166 new traffic signals in the city as part of the first phase. More signals will be added in the second phase, he said. The committee working on these issues includes officials from the Nagpur Municipal Corporation, Traffic Police, Nagpur Improvement Trust, and Nagpur Metropolitan Region Development Authority.
Advocates Rahil Mirza, RP Joshi and Deepak Thakre presented arguments on behalf of the court, the intervenor, and the government respectively.
