After replying to a volley of queries from presspersons at Mantralaya, Munde, who also holds the portfolio of law and order, was trying to allay fears of anxious city businessmen at Oberoi.

On the immediate steps he had taken following his much-publicised raid on bars on Tuesday night, Munde told newspersons, ``Today I have already shifted Mulund Zone Deputy Commissioner of Police Dalbir Bharti to the Commissioner's Office and also shunted out two police inspectors attached to Bhandup and Vikhroli police stations for dereliction of duty. These transfers should be treated as a warning. From tomorrow, if I find any of the bars in the metropolis open beyond the prescribed hours, I have asked Police Commissioner R H Mendonca to suspend the senior inspector of theconcerned police station with immediate effect.''

After a second meeting with top police officials in the last eight days, Munde said the government has sanctioned provision of cellular phones to all senior police officials, purchase of 250 latest motor-cycles, replacement of 112 jeeps and vans and setting up of 13 new police stations. The ban on recruitment has also been lifted and now the process of filling 500 vacant posts including 83 of officer rank would begin.

Police officials up to the rank of deputy police commissioners would now have access to the best legal aid instantly without the usual delays, Munde said.

The Deputy CM said powers have been delegated to the city police commissioner to engage the best legal assistance for improving the quality of investigation and prosecution. A sum of Rs one crore has been earmarked for this purpose, he said adding that Rs four crore has been sanctioned for the modernisation and upgradation of the city police control room. ``I have sanctioned all thedemands made by the police chief,'' he added.

Speaking at the businessmen's meet attended by other top police officials, Munde recalled that when he took charge as Home Minister in 1994, he realised that 30 per cent of the officers did not even have their mandatory weapons. ``Now I can claim that each and every officer in the police is armed. It is my achievement,'' he added.

``While Rs 400 crore is alloted for irrigation and development projects policing gets a paltry Rs 45 crore, which is higher only to the tourism budget,'' Munde quipped, adding, ``Although the crime has not vanished but we would like to take the credit for the decline in crime especially in murders and extortion.'' Though he painted a rosy picture of the city police performance, the home minister admitted, ``Our intelligence network (collecting crime information) is not as powerful as it should be.''