Cabinet nod for Bhayander, Vasai-Virar police office

MUMBAI: After a delay of over a year, Mira Road, Bhayander, Vasai and Virar will get a police commissionerate as the state cabinet on Tuesday approved the proposal.
Mira-Bhayander comes under the jurisdiction of Thane (Rural) police, while Vasai-Virar falls under Palghar police. Officials said there was need for a new police commissionerate as the population of this belt has increased considerably and a superintendent of police set-up was not effective enough. "As per the 2011 census, the area recorded a population of 20.4 lakh, which in 2019 is estimated to go up to 44.6 lakh," said an official, requesting anonymity.
A home department official said there will be 20 police stations under the commissionerate, of which 13 already exist. A total of 4,708 posts were approved for the commissionerate, of which 1,006 will come from Thane (Rural) and 1,135 from Palghar. The rest will be new posts.
The state will incur a Rs 131-crore recurring cost, and Rs 43.7 crore as one-time cost. The commissionerate will be headed by an additional director general-rank officer, and there will be 13 ACP rank officers, three DCP rank officers and one DIG rank officer.
Officials said in 2018, a proposal to set up a police commissionerate was tabled for Mira-Bhayander, but it was opposed by the finance department due to increase in salary bills. The proposal has been modified to cover a larger area now.