Delhi Police HQ has a new address: Jai Singh Road in central Delhi
NEWDELHI: Jai Singh Road in central Delhi, near Bangla Sahib Gurdwara, is the new address of the Delhi Police headquarters. Its newly constructed 17-floor building was inaugurated by Union home minister Amit Shah on Thursday, on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhai Patel, the country’s first home minister.
Constructed at a cost of ₹286 crore and spread over 8.092 acres, the complex is the first headquarters that officially belongs to the Delhi Police — till Thursday the city police was operating out of various rented buildings since its formation in 1948. The force’s old headquarters was at the Public Works Department Building in ITO, where it had been since 1975-76.
The offices of police commissioner, Amulya Patnaik, and special commissioners became active at the new headquarters Thursday, even though the construction and fitting work on the floors above four are still in progress.
Addressing the gathering, Shah said internal security is a priority for the Narendra Modi government. He emphasised that several steps have been taken to ensure this, including improving vigil at borders and cracking down on cartels involved in manufacture and smuggling of fake currency and narcotics.
Shah stressed on the need to acknowledge the “hard” duties that security personnel on the street as well as those at the border perform in “unfavourable conditions”.
He observed that the police are often projected in a negative light in popular media, but the sacrifices made by officers and personnel to ensure the safety of citizens are seldom highlighted.
“Such a negative projection demoralises our police force. It’s only the security personnel who do not look at the clock while performing duties. They work in areas that have temperatures of minus 44 degrees Celsius or plus 44 degrees. When we celebrate festivals with families, these personnel stand guard to ensure that our celebrations are not ruined,” the home minister said, adding that the police also need to be proactive and responsive towards redressing grievances of the public
He also paid tribute to the Delhi Police personnel who had lost their lives in the 2001 Parliament attack and in the 2008 Batla House encounter.
Police chief Patnaik said the Delhi Police is privileged to have got its own headquarters on the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhai Patel. “We assure everyone that with this new complex, Delhi Police will be able to serve society with renewed vigour and self-confidence,” he said.
The 17 floors of the new PHQ will accommodate all functionally required officers, control rooms, conference rooms, control and communications centre.
Apart from the operations building, the complex also has 12 residential quarters for officers. There are provisions for rainwater harvesting and a modern sewage treatment plant for recycling waste waster that will be used for horticulture purposes and flushing of tanks. The entire building has been fitted with LED lights and windows with DGU glasses for minimum power consumption.
A 500-seating capacity auditorium with ultra-modern sound system, along with LED stage lights and high-resolution video projector, will be an asset to the new PHQ and will be used for regular briefings of the Delhi Police. There is a lounge and briefing room for media persons. Two layered basements parking can accommodate 1,000 vehicles.
L-G Anil Baijal, minister of state for home G Kishan Reddy, union home secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla, and several former Delhi police commissioners, including Alok Verma who also served as the CBI chief, attended the function.