Single window system facilitates electioneering

All requisite clearances are issued at Police Commissioner's office

Under the single window system, 47 clearances have been issued so far for political rallies. — File Photo: Bhagya Prakash K.

As the city has come alive with political leaders launching their campaigns and addressing public meetings to woo voters, the city police have come up with a single window clearance system for effective management of electioneering.

For the first time, they have devised a system where the organisers can get all the clearances — vehicle pass, police permission and BBMP permission — at one go within an hour. Returning officers from all the three Lok Sabha constituencies sit at the City Police Commissioner’s office between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. every day, where organisers of political programmes can get the clearances. Only those rallies that are spread over multiple police divisions are cleared by the Additional Commissioner (Law and Order) Kamal Pant.

For the past ten days, 47 such programmes have been cleared under the single window system. Mr. Pant said the single window clearance system not only helped organisers but also provided the police more control over the law and order situation.

All other rallies held within one police division will have to take clearances from the jurisdictional Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP). Though ACP (Traffic) was initially made the nodal officer in-charge to give all clearances to rallies within the sub-division, now the ACP (Law and Order) has been put in-charge. The change was made after the law and order police objected saying they were better placed to assess the situation.

Mr. Pant said the police were taking additional precautions to see that all terms and conditions put forth by them before giving clearance for these functions are followed. The city police are also recording all political speeches, which would help check malpractices like provocative speeches at public functions, he said. Also strict instructions have been given to close down any rally or function exceeding the deadline of 10 p.m.

The commissioner also carried out an exercise in identifying politically and communally sensitive areas in the city to provide adequate security for free and fair elections. The commissioner has mandated the divisional Deputy Commissioner to be present at all rallies held in the politically and communally sensitive areas identified.