Raw deal for ASIs, constables as HD Kumaraswamy refuses to hike payscales

Bengaluru: The constabulary in the state has got a rough deal from the government after Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy failed to implement the key recommendation of Raghvendra Auradkar (Additional Director General of Police, Training) report to increase the pay scale of Group ‘C’ police personnel comprising the constables (PCs), head constables (HCs) and assistant sub-inspectors (ASIs) and bring it on par with their colleagues in other departments of the state government, who have same qualification or eligibility for entry to the post.

During his Budget announcement last week, Mr Kumaraswamy raised the risk allowance of constables from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 and earmarked Rs 103 crore for it, but he did not hike the pay scale of the constables even after accepting the Auradkar committee report. This has left the 80,000 cops, comprising PCs, HCs and ASIs, in the lurch, who had pinned their hopes of getting a fair deal after a long wait from the government. According to top sources, Home Minister M.B. Patil was reportedly keen on giving the pay hike to the constables but it didn’t happen because of financial constraints, alleged an official source.

“The government should have implemented the recommendation on increase of salaries of the constables after they had accepted the report. The only way to honour the report is to implement it. They have to find out ways and means to do the needful,” said former director general and inspector general of police Ajai Kumar Singh.

Constables are the backbone of the police force and have to work very long hours, often without a break because of shortage of manpower. Post and grade wise they are equivalent to a second division assistant (SDA) in other government departments. While an SDA gets promoted to the post of first division assistant (FDA) in 10 to 12 years of service, a constable often spends three-fourths of his career as a constable and gets promoted as head constable anywhere between 15 and 25 years of his service. The disparity between him and his other colleague doesn’t end here. An SDA, when he gets promoted as FDA gets a jump of three pay scales, whereas a constable towards the end of his career gets a single promotion as HC and one pay scale hike.

“This is a legitimate demand. The government should recognise the work done by the constabulary and give them their due,” said former DG&IGP R. Srikumar.

“Salary hike is a genuine and long pending demand of the constables. They should have considered it especially after the CM had assured that he would do so. The government cannot function with a demoralised police force,” said former DGP, D.V. Guruprasad.