Defending India: An appeal before Honourable Home Minister of India Sh. P. Chidambaram

Honourable Sir,

I have read with interest and heard on TV channels your views on need of a change in mindset at MHA to combat naxalism and other anti-national elements. Before this also I have followed your statements on combating naxalism and have come to know of your resolve and determination to combat naxalism with firmness but with a humane approach.

But Sir the events of last couple of days have forced me to go beyond merely reading and following your comments. I have been forced by these events to share some of my concerns with you.

Honourable Sir, today’s headlines on the popular news website http://newsx.com are:
• Police allays security concerns over CWG, Hockey WC
• Two British nationals detained for suspicious activities
• RDX, ammonium nitrate used in Pune blast: Police
• Three Maoists, civilian among those killed in EFR attack
Twenty-four EFR jawans were killed yesterday when the ultras over ran their camp at Silda.
• Chidambaram accepts failure in WB Maoist attack
Home Minister P Chidambaram today accepted there were indications of "failure" in some aspects.


Sir, these headlines are very disturbing as they indicate towards the things to follow. The fight against naxalism and divisive forces has to be fought on many fronts including the social political and economical. And from the perspective of the ministry you are heading, the role of Central Police Organisations in providing an atmosphere for negotiations and developmental works and to ensure safety and security of all concerned can not be over emphasized.

Sir, having come to know of your resolve I feel it my prime responsibility to apprise you of a very important factor having a direct bearing on your efforts in this regard. It is the issue of parity of Central Police Organisation Officers vis-à-vis other services including All India Services, other Civilian services and Military services. The officers of all the Central Police Organisations are a very important factor in this fight against naxalism today and may be Al-Quaida tomorrow. To lead all our security forces successfully in this fight we need a motivated and enthusiastic leadership provided by the officers of the Central Police Organisations (CPOs). But today, unfortunately because of a couple of recent orders by Govt of India, this cadre of 10000 odd officers in CPOs is a most demoralised and most disheartened lot. Within a span of 12 odd months it has been removed from a pedestal of equality to a status of a second grade cadre adversely affecting their moral and motivational level.

The Sixth Central Pay Commission had recommended various pay bands and pay grades on an equal footing to personnel of all different organisations and cadres. It recommended Pay Band 4 (PB4) of the new pay scales to the officers of Joint Secy level and equivalents in various organisations. It did not discriminate between various organisations and cadres. Thus all the equal posts were entitled to get PB4 including Inspectors General in CPOs and Majors General in Army. Govt of India improved upon these recommendations and granted PB4 to the officers of the post and rank of Directors and equivalents. Thus as per initial orders by the Govt all posts equivalent to the post of Director like Commandants in CPOs and Colonels in Army were placed in PB4. It was all fare and on equitable basis without any discrimination of cadre or organisation.

But Sir two subsequent orders by the Govt has changed it all. First, the Govt. of India granted Pay Band 4 to the officers of the rank of Lt Cols of Defence services. However, unlike previous order, the equivalent ranks/posts in CPOs, or other group ‘A’ services were not included in the list of posts entitled to get Pay Band 4. And soon after the Govt granted higher pay band and pay grades to some other organisations selectively and while a number of organisations like Indian Audit & Accounts Service, Indian Customs & Central Excise Service, Indian Economic Service, Indian Information Service, Indian Postal Service, Federation of Railway Officers’, Indian Revenue Service, Indian Statistical Service, Indian Trade Service etc etc were included, all the Central Police Organisations under the Ministry of Home Affaires were excluded., This order from the Department of Personnel and Training (DOPT), Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions is very discriminatory and has even greater demoralizing effect on the officers of the CPOs. In one stroke DOPT has put all CPO’s officers at a great official, financial and even social disadvantage. By its office memorandum No. AB.14017/64/2008-Estt.(RR) dated the 24th April, 2009 and No. AB.14017/64/2008-Estt.(RR) dated the 21st May, 2009, the DOPT has granted the Non-Functional upgradation to officers of all other Group ‘A’ services except some services under various ministries including all the CPOs. Against the spirit of the Pay Commission and the previous orders of the Govt. of India this OM makes a distinction between officers of Organized Services and that of other services under the ministries. The Govt. had earlier granted Pay Band 4 to equivalent posts in all services and cadres including those belonging to Organised Group A Services and those under various ministries and the Defence Services without any distinction or discrimination. However these latest orders have included lower posts in other cadres and services selectively leaving all the CPOs aside.

Sir, needless to say this latest OM has resulted in a great feeling of dissatisfaction amongst the officers of the CPOs who feel greatly let down by the government for excluding them from grant of better pay scales while the same has been granted to most of the other services and cadres. Today an officer in Army is granted higher scale of PB-4 on promotion to the rank of Lt Col (equivalent to the rank of a Second-in-Command in CPOs), an IAS officer is granted PB-4 in 14th year of his service and an officer of other Group A services is entitled to get PB-4 in the 16th year of service. But in CPOs scale of PB-4 is granted to an officer only on promotion to the rank of Commandant which is one rank senior to the rank of Lt Col in Army and takes 18 to 20 years of Group A service.

These two orders affect officers of all CPOs, of all ranks and posts, on social, professional and financial fronts. Socially an officer in other cadres, though much junior in rank, service, experience and responsibilities, is entitled to get higher pay, bigger Govt quarter and better transport facility as all these are related to the actual grade pay of an officer irrespective of his rank or post. Professionally it undermines the rank structure in CPOs vis-à-vis other organisations including State Police and Defence Services. Hon’ble sir, though money is not everything yet there is no doubt that it is still a great motivating factor and has a direct bearing on the morale and efficiency of an employee. And these orders put officers of CPOs at a great financial disadvantage vis-à-vis their peers in other services.

The war against naxalites and other anti-national elements is being and will be fought on ground exposing the men from CPOs to great personal risk. A risk not less than the risk of their life itself. Yet what is the incentive? Hon’ble sir the reality is that the family of an officer serving with Indian Audit & Accounts Service or Indian Economic Service or Indian Postal Service etc posted in Delhi and dying at home during leave will get up to twice as much pension and gratuity as the family of an officer of equal length of service from CPOs dying in action against armed militants/ naxalites in a far off place defending the unity and integrity of his country. While serving this officer from CPOs would get much less emoluments than his counterpart in other services and in death his family would get much less financial assistance than what other families would get. Hon’ble sir the situation is very grim and it needs to be attended to at the earliest.

Here, very humbly Sir, I want to bring to your kind notice the fact that this is not an old problem. Not old enough for everyone to have reconciled to their fate. It has arisen much after implementation of Sixth Pay Commission report. And the cause is not the Pay Commission recommendations but subsequent orders by DOPT which are discriminatory and against the spirit or recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission report or earlier orders by Govt of India in this regard.

And yet Sir, nothing much is required to be done to undo the damage likely to be caused by this unfortunate yet highly discriminatory and potentially damaging order from DOPT. No restructuring or Cadre review is involved just one minor amendment in this DOPT order is required.

As mentioned earlier, by its office memorandum No. AB.14017/64/2008-Estt.(RR) dated the 24th April, 2009 and No. AB.14017/64/2008-Estt.(RR) dated the 21st May, 2009, the DOPT has granted the Non-Functional upgradation to officers of all other Group ‘A’ services except some services under various ministries which include all the CPOs.

Now, hon’ble Sir, very humbly it is submitted that to undo the injustice caused to the officers of the CPOs, and to lift their morale to lead this fight against naxalism and other anti-national forces, only these above mentioned office memorandums from DOPT are required to be amended to the extent that the word ‘Organised’ is deleted from para (i) of OM no. AB.14017/64/2008-Estt.(RR) dated the 24th April, 2009. This small step, honourable sir, will put the things in right perspective and will give the valiant and deserving officers of CPOs their rightful due.

Hon’ble Sir, for your quick reference, and to make the point clearer, Para (i) of the said memorandum is reproduced below:

“Whenever an Indian Administrative Services
Officer of the State of Joint Cadre is posted at
the Centre to a particular grade carrying a specific
grade pay in Pay band 3 or Pay Band 4, the
officers belong to batches of Organised Group A
Services that are senior by two years or more and
have not so far been promoted to that particular
grade would be granted the same grade on nonfunctional
basis from the date of posting of the
Indian Administrative Service Officers in that
particular grade at the Centre”.


Sir all that is required is the deletion of this highly discriminatory word ‘Organised’ from this para.

Let, Hon’ble Sir, this be your first step in this long and arduous journey towards a naxalism and terrorism free India.

With hope of a thoughtful consideration.

Sincerely Yours
Babel
(A concerned citizen)