UP: Agra, Ghaziabad and Prayagraj brought under commissionerate system

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], November 25 (ANI): The Uttar Pradesh cabinet, led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, on Friday decided to implement the police commissionerate system in Agra, Ghaziabad and Prayagraj districts.
As per the proposal, police commissioners will be posted soon in these three cities.
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prashad Maurya hailed the government’s decision, saying, “This is a very good decision to include Agra, Prayagraj and Ghaziabad in the police commissionerate system. This will strengthen the security of these districts and reduce crime,” Maurya said.
The Yogi government had earlier implemented the police commissionerate system in Gautam Buddha Nagar (Noida), Kanpur, Varanasi and the state capital Lucknow.
Urban Development Minister Arvind Sharma said the decision was taken considering the increase in population, the importance of these districts, provide better policing and maintain law and order.
Sharma said the three cities will be declared as metropolitan areas first, as per the rules of CRPC, after which the commissionerate system will be put in place throughout these districts.
He said Agra, which has a population of 44,18, 797, as per the 2011 census, is important with regard to industry, tourism and law-and-order.
“Similarly, Ghaziabad, which has a population of 46,61,452 as per the 2011 census, is also a big and busy district. It is a part of the National Capital Region (NCR) and is important from an industrial point of view. Prayagraj, with a population of abiut 59.54 lakh, is important from religious and cultural points of view. Besides, Prayagraj will also play host to Maha Kumbh 2025,” he said.
The police commissionerate system has so far been implemented in three phases at 7 major cities. On January 13, 2020, Lucknow and Noida adopted the Commissionerate system. The first police commissioners in Lucknow and Noida were Sujit Pandey and Alok Singh.
Police personnel of ADG rank will be assigned to all three commissionerates once the commissionerate system is in place. Officers of IG rank will become joint commissioners. The changes will make the task of reviewing the district’s law and order more quickly.
Further, to improve law and order, the districts will be divided into several zones. The rank of policing will change once the commissionerate system is put in place. In terms of police stations, ACP will be posted in place of CO. They will have more rights and also be able to make decisions in the investigation of any case.
This decision was taken in view the practical problems being faced in the operation of rural police stations.
The rural police stations in these three districts will also be under the police commissionerate. The new system will come into effect after a notification is issued. (ANI)