Need to act tough against criminals to send strong a message: Awasthi

Advisor to the chief minister and former additional chief secretary, home, Awanish Awasthi on Friday said that strong law and order, which is the backbone of growth, helped the state leapfrog to the top spot in the country under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.Speaking at the Uttar Pradesh Transformation Dialogues, Awasthi said, "UP has the best conviction rate in the country. Constant monitoring and intervention from senior officials help in resolving public grievances within a short span of time."
"From 14 minutes, the emergency response time has come down to six minutes. Police response vehicles (Dial 112) are reaching the spot to rescue people in distress. Efficient systems can only be established through clear vision and proper action plan," Awasthi said.Emphasising the need to prosecute criminals to send a strong message, Awasthi said: "Guns were not assigned to policemen just for show. If the need is felt, weapons will be used. Criminals need to be shown their place."He added that the police brass, apart from taking instant action, was also working in the background to ensure that criminals were put behind bars for their deeds."Implementing institutional reforms, the Yogi govt increased the annual budget for the department from Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 5,000 crore. Through increased budget, police personnel are being provided better residential quarters, resources, and infrastructure," he said.Awasthi said the Yogi govt also worked on improving the participation of women in the police force.Through transparent recruitment drives, the state inducted lakhs of personnel into the force, taking the strength of the force from 2.5 lakh to 5.5 lakh, he said."We ensured increased participation of women. The proportion of women in police force went up from 10% to 20%," he said."The CM reviews law and order situation daily during late evening hours," Awasthi said.