MUMBAI, Oct. 11 -- The state government has decided to redevelop its police colonies spread over 75 plots in the city and issued a government resolution towards this on Friday. The home department has appointed a committee headed by additional chief secretary (home) IS Chahal to set up Mumbai police townships. Established in 1856, the Mumbai police commissionerate has 94 police stations, five units of armed police, and a strength of 51,308 policemen and officers. At present, there are only 19,762 houses, some constructed during the British regime and many in poor condition. Of these, 1,601 houses are 45 sq m, 1,203 houses are bigger than 45 sq m, and 16,958 houses are between 10 sq m and 30 sq m. As all these houses are occupied, many police men reside far from their workplaces. A senior police officer said some constables live in Mahul, which is a highly polluted. Many others come to the city from Badlapur, Titwala, Vasai, and Virar. According to the GR, nearly 50% of the city's police force commute 50-80 km every day, which affects their morale and efficiency. The home department wants to establish Mumbai police townships to tackle this housing issue. The high-level committee under Chahal has BMC commissioner Bhushan Gagrani, additional chief secretary of public works Manisha Mhaiskar, principal secretary (planning) Saurabh Vijay, police commissioner Deven Bharati, Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority vice president Sanjeev Jaiswal, CEO of slum rehabilitation authority Mahendra Kalyankar, managing director of state police housing corporation Archana Tyagi, Mumbai city collector Aanchal Goyal, collector of suburbs Saurabh Katiyar, among others. It is unclear whether the government will rebuild the colonies itself, or through MHADA, or rope in private developers. The GR does not mention private participants at the moment....