‘MODI HAI TO MUMKIN HAI…’ UNTOLD STORIES OF PM MODI - PART 23

MODI DOES TOUGH THINGS AND LEADS FROM THE FRONT!

‘MODI INTRODUCED, A BIG THING FOR GUJARAT POLICE, MERITOCRACY’
One remarkable thing Modi did with the police was to do away with interviews at the lower levels. The recruitment of constables, head constables, sub-inspectors involved physical test as the fi rst step. After physical, written and then interview. He made sure that interview is done away with, ensuring neutral process. So whosoever came on job after that, they came purely on merit basis.

INCLUSION OF WOMEN GAVE THE POLICE FORCE ITS HUMAN FACE - Shivanand Jha Former DGP Gujarat

The narrator shares with us how PM Modi is forward thinking and his steps towards modernization of the police force by introduction of technology, inclusion of women, focusing on human capital and instant grievance redressal has transformed the force.

Earlier police modernization was mainly based on vehicles and housing. But during NaMo’s time, emphasis shifted to technology and the state started to take care of housing issues. If you look carefully at the development statistics after NaMo came into power, computerization came about on a big level and technology began to play a major role in modernization.

There is a monthly review in which Gujarat used to be on number three and after all the effort we put in, at least till when I was DGM, Gujarat came on the number one spot in the area of computerization of peace process. While this started from Gujarat, today of course, everything is monitored from New Delhi. A lot of initiatives that have come through in the force are because of PM Modi’s vision. Earlier we used to bear the brunt of manpower crunch. Today a lot of educated youth from other fields have also started applying in police. We used to have eighth pass recruits, then we raised the bar to twelfth pass and today, graduates are coming in too. Once you have intelligent people coming into the force, obviously the quality is going to improve.

One very good thing he did with the police was to do away with interviews at the lower levels. The recruitment of constables, head constables, sub-inspectors involved physical test as the first step. After physical, a written test and then an interview. He made sure that the interview is done away with, thereby making the process totally neutral. So whosoever came on job after that, they came purely on the basis of merit. Introducing meritocracy was the next big thing he did for the police in Gujarat!

SRP companies always faced a manpower resource crunch. It was a big issue for us. Creating four-five groups all at once happened during his time. These days any issue that comes up, the DG does not have a problem sending manpower to tackle situations. There was a time when taking out one company for a situation used to be a challenge. For example, the Election Commission used to ask us for resources and we had to manage with whatever little we had. Now we are in a very comfortable position, thanks to him and his vision at that time.

Well, we had the IB manual and unfortunately, since the 70’s the manual had been hanging fire. People would pick it up, look at it but it would not be done. We did a very simple thing – we distributed it chapter-wise among our subbing officers, we edited it and convened a committee meeting. It was done quickly and we sent the manual to Home Department. The manual was cleared in one day by the CMO. Then it came back to us and we got it printed. We got it translated and printed in Gujarati as well and that manual was the first manual of IB which talks about procedures and everything in Gujarat.

He visualized a separate cadre in State Police where direct intelligence officers started coming in. These officers came in at the AIO level and SIO level as well. Earlier when someone would come in from the district, it would be due to some personal problem or as a punishment. This person would not take adequate interest in his work. But for this Direct Officer, this is his career. He works hard in his field bringing readiness at the core level that impacts the quality of human resources. Today IB also has technologies it did not possess earlier.

So much so, today in Gujarat, focus on Human Resource and Technology has made it possible to predict what is going to happen when and where. While terrorism can never be ignored, even law and order situations are being predicted with details. These details are specific, as in, at this point this is going to happen at this place at this time. All this was almost impossible earlier!

Talking about grievance redressal, there used to be a program called Swagat. He used to chair the program and people used to put forth their grievance personally. They were asked which unit they came from and the grievance used to be disposed off accordingly. Now NaMo had very clear thinking and if you happened to appear before him unprepared, well, you were sure to sweat. He would ensure that much and the redressal used to be instant. Nothing would linger on for the future. As NaMo was always present for the event, people got a clear message that if anything happens, it would reach him and the offender would not be spared!

Women empowerment too started from his time. Earlier, hardly two or three mahila police would be present in the station and they would not have a proper job or a goal in the station. He visualized a lot of things and decided that women must get their rights. It had a tremendous impact on the force. The human face that the police has got today, it is because of the inclusion of women in the police force. This has also improved the quality levels of police stations. PI who would earlier ignore them, today he is forced to give them proper roles. When I was DG, I put in a circular to ensure that all the good roles too must be given to the women proportionately and if they are good, give them roles, may be out of proportion also. Over a period of time, they are now holding charge of police stations. This was unimaginable at one point. NaMo is forward thinking and this has benefitted the force tremendously. He leads from the front. If there is a blast, there never is a question of whether Modi would reach there or not. He has to be there, he has to see it, give instructions on the spot! It is a given! TO BE CONTINUED...

COMPILED AND EDITED BY SHASHIKANT SHARMA AND SHWETA SHARMA