Maharashtra Govt Approves ₹36 Crore For Mounted Police Unit Expansion

Mumbai: The government has approved Rs 36 crore for the non-recurring expenditure incurred for a mounted police unit. The unit will have 30 horses with recurring and nonrecurring expenditures within the establishment of the Commissioner of Police, Mumbai.

“While determining the approved recurring and nonrecurring expenses, rates were fixed by taking information from the manuals for mounted police units, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy, Hyderabad, Kolkata Mounted Police Unit and Mumbai Race Course,” an official said.

“The rate was calculated as per the rate of 2018 and the annual increase was not taken into consideration. The sanctioned recurring and nonrecurring expenses were falling short. Therefore, the matter of approving revised recurrent and non-recurring expenditures for the said component was under the consideration of the government. Accordingly, revised recurring expenditure of Rs1.88 crore and Rs36.53 crore revised non-recurring expenditure for the mounted police unit has been approved.”

Proposal Moved In December 2018

In December 2018, the then police commissioner Subodh Jaiswal had moved a proposal for the unit to the government. Similar proposals were made in 1990 and 2009 by the police. In January 2020, Mumbai Police formally launched its mounted police unit and acquired 13 horses. The unit had been inaugurated by Maharashtra’s erstwhile home minister, Anil Deshmukh.

Explaining the need for horses in the police machinery, the police had said that there are a lot of areas where vehicles cannot be used for patrolling, and at these places, the mounted police unit can be utilised.

Last year, the Police Welfare and Housing Department received a go-ahead from the state government to construct a place to stay for horses of the mounted unit at the police training ground inside Marol Local Arms 4 (LA 4 headquarters). The estimated cost for the project is around Rs12- Rs15 crore.