Uttarakhand – Uttarakhand is on the verge of completely phasing out its century-old revenue police system. In the second phase of restructuring, 1983 revenue villages have now been merged into 44 existing police stations and 33 police outposts, with formal approval granted by the state government.
The plan also includes bringing 2440 more villages under regular policing through the creation of nine new police stations and 44 reporting outposts. This proposal is currently under review by the Finance Department. Earlier, the police had submitted a plan to bring the remaining 4423 revenue villages under regular police jurisdiction.
In the first phase, carried out between December 2022 and February 2023, a total of 3157 villages were integrated. Of these, around 1800 were merged into 52 existing police stations and 19 outposts, while another 1357 villages required the creation of six new stations and 20 outposts.
The push to dismantle the revenue policing system intensified after the Ankita Bhandari murder case in Yamkeshwar, Pauri, in September 2022, when serious lapses were reported in the early stages of investigation under the revenue police. Following mounting criticism, both the state government and the High Court ordered the transition to regular policing. A state-wide survey was then conducted to assess requirements for integrating revenue villages.
With the latest approval, 1983 villages have already been brought under regular police coverage, while the proposal for the remaining 2440 villages is being finalized. Once implemented, this will mark the complete end of the unique revenue police system—previously followed only in Uttarakhand—making way for a uniform policing structure across the state.
Home Secretary Shailesh Bagauli confirmed that while the integration of villages into existing police jurisdictions has been approved, the Finance Department is currently deliberating on sanctioning new police stations and outposts to cover the remaining villages.
