‘Too little’: Govt sops fail to enthuse Raj cops

Jaipur: At a ceremony to mark the Rajasthan Police Foundation Day on Wednesday, Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma announced hikes in uniform and mess allowances for police personnel, free travel in semi-deluxe buses, and promised time-bound promotions.
At the event held at the Rajasthan Police Academy (RPA), Sharma said the annual uniform allowance for personnel from constable to assistant sub-inspector (ASI) has been increased from Rs 7,000 to Rs 8,000. Similarly, the monthly mess allowance for officers up to the rank of inspector has been raised from Rs 2,400 to Rs 2,700,
But the move failed to impress the cops who had been pressing for 11 demands, including a monthly mess allowance of Rs 5,000, uniform allowance of Rs 10,000, a "hard duty" allowance, and time-bound promotion committee meetings.
"We demanded Rs 10,000 as annual uniform allowance, but only Rs 8,000 was approved. Our main demand was Rs 5,000 as monthly mess allowance, but the CM increased it by just Rs 300," said a constable, speaking on condition of anonymity. He added that there was still no clear assurance on promotions.
This year, constables across Rajasthan boycotted Holi celebrations at police lines for the first time in history to highlight their long-pending demands and to express dissatisfaction with senior officials.
"Our main demand is timely promotion as per departmental promotion committee (DPC) norms, which is yet to be fulfilled. Another key demand is the implementation of Rs 3,600 grade pay. We are hopeful the chief minister will soon address our concerns," said another constable.
Sharma also announced free travel in semi-deluxe buses for all police personnel from constables to inspectors in addition to express category buses. To modernise the police force, the CM declared a Rs 200-crore Police Modernisation and Infrastructure Fund. He also said approval has been granted to recruit 10,000 personnel, including the creation of 5,500 new posts and a proposal for an additional 3,500 this year.
A Sardar Patel Centre for Cyber Control and a War Room will also be established with a budget of Rs 350 crore along with an allocation of Rs 27 crore for modern equipment, he said.