CM Naveen Patnaik reiterates law and order situation is peaceful in Odisha

BHUBANESWAR: Reiterating his claim that the law and order situation in Odisha has by and large remained peaceful and the overall crime situation is well under control, chief minister Naveen Patnaik today said no major left wing extremism activity has been noticed in the affected districts.

Replying to the discussion on the demand for grants of the home and general administration departments, the chief minister said that recruitment to the CPM (Maoist) organisation has declined and mass support base of the organisation has been rendered weak due to the pro-active security measures and developmental interventions. “Our intelligence-based operations have yielded significant results in 2018 with neutralisation of five hardcore cadres and 12 arrests,” he said.

Describing the recent rape incidents in the state as highly condemnable, the chief minister said that police has timely action in arresting the accused in the shortest possible time. Assuring the house that the state government will spare no efforts in ensuring that the culprits are tried expeditiously, he said safety and security of women, children and other vulnerable groups remain the top priority of the government.

The chief minister expressed concern at the increasing road accidents and fatalities and said the state government is initiating highway patrolling, special drives to enforce traffic discipline and use of high tech gadgets of detect over speeding.

Stating that the government has placed emphasis on strengthening the capacity of the police by upgrading operational capability and providing requisite human resource and infrastructure, the chief minister said permission for filling up of 3944 vacancies in various ranks in police has been accorded along with creation of 444 posts in different ranks during 2017.

To strengthen the jail administration, the chief minister said, CCTV and video conferencing facilities have been installed in 62 jails, jammers in 7 important jails and baggage scanners in five jails. Stating that in a major development 192 assistant public prosecutors have been recruited to strengthen the state prosecution service, he said the standing committee's recommendation for initiating appropriate measures to increase the conviction rate is a welcome one.

The chief minister said the state government has framed Fire Prevention and Fire Safety Rules, 2017 to ensure adoption of proper fire safety measures in high rise, other buildings and temporary structures.