Al Ngullie
DIMAPUR, OCTOBER 19
NAGALAND’S police force has incurred the highest per capita expenditure in the country – financial impetus for infrastructure and modernization incentives. It has come to light that for three consecutive years, the highest per capita expenditure for police spending in the country was incurred by the state’s police force, thanks to increased funding from the center for various capacity and infrastructural development.To the public of the state, the information may appear paradoxical considering that the actual ground performance of Nagaland Police remains a topic that’s best left unspoken.
Nagaland’s police force led the country in the per capita expenditure for three years 2010, 2011 and 2012, financial records on Nagaland from the Ministry of Home Affairs shows. The extent of funding toward capacity and a more visible slant toward empowerment are startling considering that Nagaland police has frequently been criticized for being ‘weak’ and one of the most underutilized police forces in the north east. The public’s cynicism about the force’s performance in the recent years – particularly when dealing with ‘issues’ related to the underground organizations – is not a secret.
A number of reports from the central Home Affairs and police administration concerning police strength, expenditure and associated data spanning 2010, 2011, 2012 and the concurrent year were made available to Eastern Mirror recently.
In 2010, state governments and Union Territory administrations incurred an expenditure of` 31,748.3 crore on their police forces, averaging an expenditure of 2, 00, 899 per policeman per annum. “The highest per capita expenditure on policeman during the year was in Nagaland (`4,97,851) followed by Dadar & Nagar Haveli (`3,50,481), Andaman and Nicobar Islands (`3,41,107) and Pudducherry (`3,09,455). Manipur has reported the lowest expenditure of `1, 34, 230 per policeman.
In 2011, the state governments and Union Territory administrations in the country incurred an expenditure of` 49,576.3 crore on the police, averaging an expenditure of ` 2, 98, 625 per policeman per annum. The highest per capita expenditure on policeman during the year was in Nagaland again (`6, 81, 925), followed by Puducherry (`5, 16, 257) and Delhi (` 4, 16, 275). Daman and Diu reported the lowest expenditure of `2, 01, 140 per policeman during 2011.
In 2012, the states and Union Territories incurred a total expenditure of ` 55,747.00 crore on the police, averaging an expenditure of ` 3, 32, 867 per policeman per annum. The highest per capita expenditure on policeman during the year was in Nagaland yet again (`7, 89, 441), followed by Meghalaya (`6, 43, 084) and Sikkim (` 4, 99, 438). Assam reported the lowest expenditure of `2, 25, 678 per policeman during the year.
Contextualizing it, it is interesting to note that during 2012-2013, there was increased “factional” violence in the state between rival underground groups, particularly in Kohima and Dimapur. The response of the state government and the police to the events continues to be criticized by the public. The Ministry of Home Affairs has also noted in its annual report that the “violence level” was higher in Nagaland and Meghalaya than the previous year.
Also, as part of “augmenting” state police forces across the country, the Government of India has been assisting the state governments for “augmenting and upgrading” their police forces to deal with insurgency and militancy. 51 India Reserve Battalions (IR battalions) were ‘sanctioned’ for the North East states including Sikkim. These include 9 battalions each for Assam, Tripura, Manipur and 7 battalions for Nagaland, 5 battalions each for Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram, 4 battalions for Meghalaya and 3 battalions for Sikkim. Out of 51 sanctioned, 48 IR battalions have been raised so far in NE States including Sikkim, the Home Affairs report stated.
The funding also extends to border security enforcement under the Border Area Development Program. During 2010-2011 Nagaland was allocated 2500.00 lakhs; during 2011-2012 Nagaland was allocated 2015.00 lakhs; during 2012-2013 Nagaland was allocated Rs 2000.00 lakhs while 1800.00 lakhs have been released, the report states.
Likewise, Nagaland also received increased funding under the Scheme for Modernization of State Police Forces. During 2009-2010, the state was allocated Rs. 31.50 crore; during 2010-2011, the funds were Rs. 33.61 crore; during 2011-2012, the state received only Rs. 0.1516 crore. For 2012-2013, Nagaland has been allocated 4.86 crore, till March 2013, under the scheme.
