Mumbai

Mumbai police constables will now get service quarters measuring 50 square metres (538 square feet), officials said on Thursday.

The Maharashtra government on Thursday increased the entitled area of accommodation for the constabulary serving in the city’s police force from 45 sqm to 50 sqm, an official said

An order about the modification in the entitlement has been issued by the home department, he said.

Except for Mumbai, the constabulary serving in the Maharashtra police force was entitled to 50 sqm of official accommodation.

Police Commissioner Deven Bharti had sent a proposal to the home department to allot 50-sqm quarters to Mumbai police constables, on a par with other districts.

The state approved the proposal and modified an earlier government resolution, he said.

“Earlier, the constabulary in Mumbai was entitled to 45 sqm official accommodation, while it was 50 sqm for the rest of Maharashtra. The government has modified it, and now the constabulary in Mumbai will also get 50 sqm official accommodation,” said Bharti.

After taking charge as the city police chief, Bharti had promised 500 sqft accommodation to constables, the official said.

The city police currently has 19,762 police houses, all of which are occupied. Of these, 16,958 residences measure between 100 and 300 square feet and are housed in British-era buildings, most of which are old.

He said that 1,601 quarters for the constabulary have an area of 45 sqm, while 1,203 houses are larger.

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Nearly 50 per cent of the 51,000-strong Mumbai police force travels between 80 km and 100 km daily from areas such as Thane, Karjat, Kasara, Navi Mumbai, Raigad, Virar, and Palghar to reach duty, he said.

The government has plans to construct more service quarters for the police personnel in the city, added.