Minister asks police dept to reconsider move
LUCKNOW: A day after Uttar Pradesh police terminated services of 25,000 home guards, state minister Chetan Chauhan on Tuesday said he asked the director general of police to reconsider the decision.
“The home guard department sends the jawans on deputation to various government departments. The home guards do not have any fixed monthly salary but are paid on the basis of number of days they serve,” said Chauhan, who holds the portfolio of home guards and civil security.
“A large number of jawans are serving with the state police, managing traffic and doing other jobs entrusted to them. They are given daily allowances by the department. The problem arose after the Supreme Court directed the state government to give daily allowance to the home guards on a par with the state police.”
The home guards were paid a daily stipend of ~500; after the August 2019 Supreme Court order, it was increased to ~672 per day. The hike had added to the state police’s budgetary constraints, he said. “Since the allowance was revised in the middle of the financial years, the police department expressed its inability to pay them according to the court order. Thus, the police removed 25,000 home guards.”
Chauhan claimed he told the director general of police (DGP) not to remove all the home guards from duty but to curtail their strength, according to the budget available with the police department. “The DGP assured me that he will consider the proposal. The state government is committed to giving daily allowance to the home guards according to the apex court order. In the financial year 2020-21, budgetary allocation will be made for the payment of the revised stipend to the jawans,” Chauhan said.
He said he urged the departments to curtail the number of days of their services to 22 from the existing 30 days. “In this way, the government departments, including police, will be able to pay revised allowance to the jawans. After the budget is passed in March next year, the jawans will get 30 days employment.”