Guwahati, Nov 16 (IANS): In a bid to improve coordination between the police and the public, the Assam cabinet on Wednesday gave approval to constitute 'Thana-level citizen committees' across the state, officials said.

A senior government official said that the committees will be constituted under the Section 11 sub-clause of the Assam police act. The citizen committees will essentially function as community liaison groups for respective police stations.

A committee to comprise Chairman which is to be appointed by the state government, member secretary will be the Officer-in-Charge of the police station, block level, and circle officers, other members will be there that will including Municipal corporation officers, citizens nominated by the district administration.

The officer added that the committees will facilitate the timely delivery of citizen-centric services of the police department and ensure the responsiveness of police against grievances registered in police stations.

It will also look into incidents of alleged misbehaviour, and provide information and community feedback for improving policing.

The committees will use various public forums for pushing forward the concerns for police actions in matters of national security and the public good.

Apart from that, the state government believes that this new system will also be able to create public awareness of important social issues like drug abuse, human trafficking, witch-hunting, domestic violence, etc.