Maharashtra govt tightens security, restricts visitors at Mantralaya

The Maharashtra government has decided to issue colour-coded and RFID passes and pre-book time slots for appointments to people visiting Mantralaya in a bid to restrict their entry and curb incidents of protest and suicide attempts by visitors at the secretariat.

As per a detailed order issued by the Maharashtra home department on Tuesday, people visiting the Mantralaya will not be allowed to roam around in departments or floors other than those mentioned in their entry passes.

According to official data, the average number of Mantralaya visitors is 3,500 and goes up to 5,000 on the day of the cabinet meeting.

A wide safety net was put up on the second floor of the Mantralaya after some incidents of people jumping from the top floors were reported in the last few years.

But this did not stop such attempts, as people climbed on the net during protests. Last month, a group of farmers from Vidarbha jumped onto the safety net at the Mantralaya, while demanding compensation for their land acquired for an irrigation project.

The state government has in the order said the daily administration work gets affected due to the people visiting the Mantralaya building in large numbers.

The deputy commissioner of police for Mantralaya security has been asked to submit a report within a month detailing the number of visitors allowed per day, the order said.

It said an annual contract would be given for maintenance as the government noticed damage to the existing drone system used for security reasons.

A modern plaza for visitors will be constructed near the Mantralaya's Garden Gate which will have a pass counter, waiting room, bag lockers and scanners, among others, the order said.

The government order also asked the officials to install invisible steel ropes in open spaces in corridors and windows. Also, visitors will not be allowed to carry more than Rs 10,000 cash while entering the premises.

The order also said that correspondence to the department concerned will now have to be submitted to a centralised system.

A colour code system will also come up which will prevent visitors from going to floors other than those specified by them at the time of entry, it added.