Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, May 20: The Central Government has agreed to bear entire expenditure incurred for doubling wages of 24,870 Special Police Officers (SPOs) in Jammu and Kashmir under Security Related Expenditure (SRE), thus, clearing decks for much awaited and long pending increase in their salaries despite clearance by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) a long back.
In addition to the SPOs, about 4122 Village Defence Committees (VDCs) in the State will also be benefitted as two SPOs are attached with majority of the VDCs, whose wages are equally shared among all the VDC members and SPOs attached to them.
Official sources told the Excelsior that following approval to the proposal for increase in wages of about 25,000 SPOs in Jammu and Kashmir by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, the proposal was sent to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for concurrence. However, due to delay in follow up action by both previous NC-Congress and present PDP-BJP Governments, the proposal was held up in the Finance Ministry.
“The Finance Ministry has now accepted the proposal and a formal announcement was on the cards,’’ sources said, adding thereafter the wages of 24,870 SPOs will be doubled.
The SPOs were presently getting Rs 3000 per month. Initially, the increase in the wages had been proposed to Rs 5000 per month but now this has been increased to Rs 6000 per month i.e. 100 per cent increase from the existing wages.
“The MHA would bear an estimated expenditure of Rs 90 crores per year for doubling wages of the SPOs’’, sources said.
There are about 4122 VDCs, which have been constituted only in Jammu and Ladakh regions. As there was no provision for payment of any remuneration to the VDCs, the Government had attached two SPOs with each VDC.
Under the provision, the wages of two SPOs are equally distributed among the VDC members and two SPOs.
Out of 5,000 sanctioned VDCs, 4122 VDCs have been constituted in different districts of Jammu and Ladakh divisions. A total of 4603 SPOs are working with the VDCs while 1972 VDCs are without SPOs. The VDCs with whom no SPOs are attached didn’t get any remuneration but police authorities have directed that at least two SPOs must be engaged with every VDC. In some areas, the SPOs are not ready to work with VDCs as they get hardly Rs 700 or Rs 800 a month due to division of salaries equally among the VDC members.
“The number of 24,870 SPOs and 4122 VDCs had been projected in Jammu and Kashmir by the State Government while sending proposal to the MHA for increasing wages of the SPOs,’’ sources said, adding number of the SPOs might have gone up slightly as some SPOs are recruited from time to time depending upon the requirement. However, number of the VDCs might be static as they haven’t been increased due to decline in the militancy.
Out of 24,870 SPOs, 14845 are working in Kashmir division and 8338 in Jammu region. Moreover, 1687 SPOs are working in departments of Police Headquarters, ZPHQ, Armed Wing, Security Wing, PRWS Srinagar, Railway Wing, Crime Wing, CID Wing, Traffic Wing, SKPA Udhampur, PTS Kathua, PTTI Vijaypur, Talwara, SSG J&K, PCR Jammu and PCR Srinagar.
Sources pointed out that the Centre has also agreed to reimburse entire amount to be paid by the State Government due to 100 per cent increase in wages of the SPOs to the State under the Security Related Expenditure (SRE). Most of the expenditure incurred by the State Government on security is reimbursed by the Centre under the SRE, which included wages paid to the SPOs as they were engaged mostly in militancy-infested areas but later their appointments had become routine on requirement basis even in the peaceful areas.
According to sources, initially the Central Government might increase wages of SPOs in Jammu and Kashmir only but later extend the benefits to other States also. The SPOs had also been engaged by several Naxal-infested States.
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