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The Home and Urban Development Departments will jointly frame a policy for the construction of 2 lakh homes for the police personnel in Maharashtra. This has been pending since the announcement was made in the 1990s, but it has yet to gather momentum. The project has been stuck up in administrative and procedural red-tapism.

However, UDD Minister Eknath Shinde, on Thursday, took an initiative and held a joint meeting with the officers from his department and the Home Department to put the project on fast track. The police personnel will own these homes, as they do not want to wander for shelter after retirement. “At present, 1.5 lakh police personnel in the state are deprived of their rightful home. The policy is being framed for its implementation in short, medium and long terms. The policy will take care of construction of homes for police during their service period and after retirement on ownership basis. Multiple options are being discussed and they will be taken into consideration to finalise the policy for the construction of 2 lakh homes for police personnel,’’ said Shinde after his meeting.

Apart from the housing stock available to the government and the houses available from other schemes, Shinde said the priority is to see the availability of more homes for the police personnel.

Former Home Minister Anil Deshmukh early this year had announced that the Maharashtra State Police Housing and Welfare Corporation will construct 1 lakh homes for police personnel amidst the growing demand. However, the project is yet to take off, as Deshmukh recently stepped down. His successor Dilip Walse-Patil, during his maiden press conference, announced that one of his priorities was construction of 2 lakh homes for the police personnel. He held meetings to push the project.

The government recently promoted Vivek Phansalkar to the rank of director general of police of the Maharashtra State Police Housing and Welfare Corporation to expedite the construction of 2 lakh homes.