Ever wondered what are so many officers in Calcutta Police doing? What are the functions of its numerous cells? Or why, even decades after Independence, there is still a vagrancy cell and nothing to deal with cyber crime?

Rattled by the revelation that the number of senior officers in various departments is far in excess of their tasks, police commissioner Prasun Mukherjee ? at the behest of chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee ? has decided to bring about a system of accountability and recast certain units that have little or no relevance now.

A sweeping survey has revealed that there are 11 assistant commissioners in the detective department alone and that several officers-in-charge in the enforcement branch have almost nothing to do.

Certain cells in the special branch, the survey pointed out, have almost no relevance in the present crime world.

?The force has to tune itself to the demands of time. The officers should be tasked with what is really important in today?s policing and then made accountable for their performance. We are working on a string of changes on these lines,? Mukherjee told Metro.

The blueprint for the change aims to do away with the flab and set up units that will make effective contribution to the force.

The draft plan has been finalised and will be placed before the state home department soon for approval.

First up, the detective department will be revamped and officers trained in handling crime with ?unconventional dimensions?. A cyber crime cell will be set up, with officers who have received advanced training in the field.

Commissioner Mukherjee, following a series of meetings with officers equipped to handle such cases, has finalised the modalities of forming the unit.

The immoral traffic section will be tied up with the women?s grievance cell to deal with the rising number of cases in trafficking being reported from the city and its adjoining areas. Also in the offing are an antique cell and a wildlife cell.

?According to the draft plan, some units in the special branch and the enforcement branch will be done away with. The officers will be shifted to other sections dealing with crime such as violation of intellectual property rights,? said a senior officer of the home (police) department.

The authorities want to bring about a ?fierce professionalism? in the force and make officers accountable for their job. The thrust will be on ?effective policing? by bettering coordination between the various departments.

?The government will not have to incur a whopping expense for implementing the plan. We want to put in place a system that will ensure ?policing for a purpose?,? the officer stressed.