Indian
Express: New Delhi: Sunday, 18 October 2015.
At least 42
of 125 projects sanctioned since 1995 not completed; eight projects scrapped;
files of 10 projects missing; 16 projects approved two years ago but yet to
start.
In 1970, the
Union Home Ministry set up the Bureau of Police Research and Development
(BPR&D) to “initiate research” for “the modernisation of police forces”.
Today, it seems it’s this bureau, which has sunk crores of rupees in dud
projects, that urgently needs modernisation.
According to
an evaluation of BPR&D projects conducted by its Director General N R
Wasan, who took over in May 2015, and information accessed by The Indian
Express using the RTI Act, even the final reports of 33 projects completed over
the years were merely stored in files and never evaluated.
Records show
that many of these projects were handed out to serving or retired IPS officers,
including former CBI director Ashwani Kumar. The BPR&D also sanctioned
projects worth Rs 10 crore to well-known companies such as Wipro, IL&FS,
Randstad and Genesis Media Private Ltd, and even the Punjab government’s
Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration (MGSIPA) during
2012-13.
Another
project, worth Rs 4.95 lakh, was given to Ranjana Kumari of Centre for Social
Research (CSR).
But records
examined by The Indian Express show that the results have been far from
satisfactory.
Consider
these:
Ø
At least 16 research projects were approved in March 2013
for Rs 22-25 lakh on topics such as “Capacity Building in Sub-ordinate Ranks”;
“Developing Women Police Leadership”; Challenges before Cyber Crime Agencies”;
and Identifying Areas for E-governance 11 of them went to serving or retired
IPS officers. But 30 months on, these projects are yet to start because
BPR&D has not been able to verify the credentials of the NGOs/ institutes
involved. Wasan has now referred this issue to the Home Ministry.
Ø
At least 42 projects were not completed despite a chunk
of the sanctioned amounts, running into lakhs of rupees, having already been
released.
Ø
At least eight projects were scrapped for various reasons
such as “non-progress of research.” Two of them were later given to waitlisted
candidates.
Ø
Files related to at least 10 projects are missing from
the BPR&D. These were sanctioned to various researchers on behalf of NGOs,
institutions and universities such as Chennai University; Academic Staff
College of Srinagar; Amity University Noida; and Guru Jambheshwar University of
Hisar among others. The BPR&D chief has directed officers to “fix the responsibility
and inform” the ministry.
Ø
In the case of at least 15 projects that were completed,
the researchers’ dues were not paid or parts of the sanctioned amounts not
released. These include projects in which the researchers are yet to be
submitted the utilisation certificates.
Ø
The final reports of at least 33 completed projects were
submitted to the BPR&D but never evaluated. Over the last two months, they
have been sent to various subject experts for evaluation.
When
contacted by The Indian Express, BPR&D chief Wasan declined to comment on
these findings.
Records show
that one of the BPR&D projects, on “Police Leadership at district and SHO
level”, went to former CBI chief Ashwani Kumar, on behalf of O P Jindal Global
University, Sonipat (Haryana). But when the BPR&D sought status reports on
the Rs 19.8-lakh project, the university on August 17 returned the Rs 12 lakh
that it had received.
When
contacted about the project, Ashwani Kumar told The Indian Express: “It was
awarded to the university. I was one of the researchers. Later, my job was
handed over to other researcher.” Y S R Murthy, registrar of the university,
said it had written several letters to BPR&D to inform that Ashwani Kumar
could not continue since he had been appointed Governor of Manipur (for a brief
while in 2013) but did not receive any response.
Ranjana
Kumari was allotted a project in March 2011 to study “Anti-Human Trafficking
and Multi-Stakeholder Involvement in the Rehabilitation of Rescued Persons”.
However, after a presentation was made on September 4, 2014, BPR&D noted
that it was “not found up to the mark.” The bureau’s then chief Rajan Gupta
recommended “scrapping of the project, recovery of released amount and
blacklisting of the CSR for getting any further research”, the records show.
Wasan has now sought an explanation from BPR&D staff “for not initiating
action”.
Ranjana
Kumari did not respond to requests seeking comment.
The Indian
Express has examined records which show that BPR&D chief Wasan has sought
explanations from his staff “for not initiating any action” on several such
projects. In some cases, he has even sought disciplinary action against the
staff.
In the case
of private firms, records show that when BPR&D asked HR specialists
Randstad recently about the progress of projects sanctioned, the reply was they
could not proceed. According to records, IL&FS has been asked for an
explanation for non-completion of a project, and Genesis had prepared just
three films out of a proposed 85.
The BPR&D
is also awaiting a response from IT major Wipro on a project while the MGSIPA
has asked for more time.
Sources said
that BPR&D has now recommended that the Home Ministry “call off” the
projects sanctioned to Genesis Media Private Ltd and Randstad the ministry
has sought legal opinion.
When contacted, a Wipro spokesperson said the
company would not comment on the issue. A spokesperson for Genesis Media
Private Ltd said: “It is an agreement with BPR&D. We can’t discuss anything
in the media as per the contract.” IL&FS and Randstad did not respond to
requests seeking comment.
The BPR&D
chief has also issued instructions to register an FIR against an NGO for
alleged forgery and fraud, citing lack of progress on a study despite accepting
Rs 13.71 lakh for the project, sources said.
In some of
the projects, records show, researchers obtained an advance from BPR&D but
then failed to register themselves under various universities as mandated. For
instance, one researcher who was to conduct a study on “Problems Faced by
Undertrial Prisoners” in 2011-12 submitted a request for change of topic this
year. The researcher has been asked to refund the first instalment with penal
interest.
There are at
least 12 such projects where refund has been sought along with penal interest,
sources said.
What is
BPR&D?
The
Delhi-based Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) is staffed by
47 officers in the capital and comprises six divisions: Research and
Correctional Administration, Modernisation/Development, Training,
Administration, National Police Mission and Special Police. The Research and
Correctional Administration division conducts research to identify the “needs
and problems of police services in the country”. It also facilitates training
and research for the mordernisation of the force, with four regional offices
imparting training to state-level police officers.
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