Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, June 7: The State Cabinet today adopted recommendations of Cabinet Sub Committee (CSC) on Police Cadre Review and announced creation of State Police Service Cadre named ‘Jammu Kashmir Police Services’ (JKPS) fixing time schedule for according higher grades to the KPS officers to remove stagnation but fell short of giving them posts like IGPs and DIGs till they are inducted into the IPS.
However, it has identified six non-IPS cadre posts-two in the rank of IGPs and four DIGs-on which the KPS officers can be posted. These six posts will be exclusively reserved for KPS officers. The direct IPS officers or KPS officers inducted into IPS, working as IGPs and DIGs, will not be posted on them.
These posts included Human Rights and Civil – Military Liaison in IG grade and Vigilance Organisation, Home Guards, Civil Defence Jammu and Civil Defence Kashmir in DIG grade. The KPS officers posted against them will have special designation like Special Director, Joint Director or Commandants, the names for which will be worked out.
The Government has also decided to write to the Department of Personnel and Trainings (DoPT) to suggest more ways and means by which the KPS officers can be extended additional benefits.
The CSC headed by veteran BJP leader and Industries and Commerce Minister Chander Prakash Ganga had finalized its recommendations on June 5, which were taken up by the Cabinet today. Other members of the CSC comprised Health and Medical Education Minister Bali Bhagat and Forests Minister Lal Singh (all BJP), Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu, Works Minister Naeem Akhter and Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs Minister Choudhary Zulfkar Ali (all PDP). Naeem and Zulfkar had abstained from the meeting.
Official sources told the Excelsior that the KPS officers would now become Additional SPs after five years of service, SPs in further five years of service and SSP in another five years of service i.e. they would become SSPs within 15 years of their joining of the services. The KPS officers get DySP as their first posting.
The promotions will be subject to availability of vacancies. The officers, who didn’t get post, will get the grade. The posts will be given as and when the vacancies arise.
However, the KPS officers will get the grade of DIG (Rs 8900) after completion of nine years of services as SSP but not the rank (of DIG). They will get the grade of IGP (Rs 10,000) after completion of total 30 years of service. However, they will not get the ranks of DIG and IGPs unless they are inducted into the IPS.
The promotions of the KPS officers from DySPs to Additional SPs, Additional SPs to SPs and SPs to SSPs will be subject to availability of vacancies. However, sources pointed out, availability of vacancies are generally not a problem.
Fifty per cent posts of DySPs will be filled through KPs and rest 50 per cent through promotional quota of Inspector.
The KPS officers will become IGs and DIGs only when they are inducted into IPS.
However, sources admitted that not all KPS officers attained the grades of DIGs and IGPs after 24 years and 30 years of services respectively would get the posts of Joint Directors or Deputy Directors or as the names of posts may be as there would be only two posts in the grade of IGPs and four in the grade of DIGs for them. Sources didn’t rule out increase in the number of posts in the rank of Joint Directors and Deputy Directors for the KPS officers in due course of time. Those who didn’t get the posts will get grades.
Meanwhile, sources said, the Government has decided to approach the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), which is headed by Jammu and Kashmir’s lone representative in Narendra Modi Government, Dr Jitendra Singh to suggest more ways and means for the benefit of KPS officers and take up the matter for induction of KPS officers into IPS, which was pending for past about seven years now. As per the estimates, there were about 50 vacancies of KPS officers’ induction into IPS, which had piled up due to delay in fixation of KPS seniority.
The issue of posting of KPS officers as DIGs and IGPs without their induction into IPS had snowballed into a major controversy after Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti had left the Cabinet meeting on December 9 last year when her proposal for posting of KPS officers as DIGs and IGPs was opposed by the BJP Ministers.
Later, the Government had formed six member CSC to sort out the issue. However, with both BJP and PDP sticking to their stands, the CSC hardly met once or twice during past about six months. During past few days, the talks were held between the two Alliance partners and finally a consensus was reached in the CSC meeting held on June 5
Certain startling facts had come to the fore regarding discrimination with KPS officers after the issue surfaced in December last year. At least 50 posts of Indian Police Services (IPS) from the quota of KPS officers’ induction into the IPS are lying vacant in Jammu and Kashmir since 2008. At least 75 KPS officers are working as Superintendents of Police (SPs) for the last 11 years without any further promotion.
Delay in fixation of seniority of KPS officers and other SPs was attributed as major reason for non-induction of KPS officers into IPS and their promotion to the next grade, sources said.
They said though the induction of KPS officers into the IPS is an annual exercise, in Jammu and Kashmir not a single KPS officer has been inducted into the IPS since 2008 i.e. for the last eight years. This has resulted into stagnation and leaving 50 posts of IPS from KPS officers’ quota vacant. Still, there seems to be no seriousness on part of the Government to resolve the issues and set the stage for induction of KPS officers into the IPS.
Nearly 75 KPS officers were last promoted in 2005 from DySPs to SPs. And, for the last 11 years, all of them are still working as the SPs with no further promotions.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet has also accorded sanction to the enhancement of the percentage of posts of Selection Grade Constables to 50%, from the existing 25% at constabulary level and upgradation of pay scale of Selection Grade Constable from existing grade pay of Rs.2100/- to grade pay of Rs.2400/- in the pay band of Rs.5200-20200/-.
A Constable with 9 years of service only shall be eligible for placement in the Selection Grade subject to availability of post. Constables getting insitu promotion earlier will be entitled to pay scale of Rs.5200-20200 + GP Rs.2400/- but not rank. They will be entitled to rank only after their placement in the Selection Grade of Constable.
Meanwhile, an official handout said: to remove stagnation of State Police Service officers, belonging to various wings/cadres, the Cabinet chaired by the Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti today approved review of the strength and composition of the Jammu and Kashmir Police (Gazetted) Service based on the proposal of the Home Department and the recommendations of the Cabinet Sub-Committee which had been constituted by the Cabinet.
“There had been a demand for carving out higher scales of pay in the General Cadre of the Jammu and Kashmir Police (Gazetted) Service on the pattern of the officers of the Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service (KAS) and the Jammu and Kashmir Accounts (Gazetted) Service,” the handout said.
The Cabinet approved introduction of Selection Grade at the level of DySPs/SPs in various cadres/wings of the service, enhancement of Selection Grade quota at the level of SPs and introduction of deputation reserve in the Prosecution Cadre.
Cabinet also approved introduction of three new scales in General Cadre including Selection Grade-I in PB:4 Rs 37400-67000+GP Rs 8700, Super Time Scale (i) in PB:4 Rs 37400-67000+GP Rs 8900 and Super Time Scale (ii) in PB:4 Rs 37400-67000+GP Rs 10,000.
Meanwhile, Director General of Police Dr S P Vaid has hailed the Government decisions regarding creation of Jammu and Kashmir Police Service cadre and also the increase in selection grade constable quota from 25 per cent to 50 per cent.
The DGP, in his tweets, while thanking the Government for the decisions, has congratulated the officers and jawans and their families. He said that by these two decisions hundreds of officers and Jawans are going to be benefited. These decisions would go a long to boost the morale of police force”, he added.
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