‘Stopping Naxal allowance will demoralise cops deployed in insurgency-hit areas’
   Date :27-Jun-2019

 
Staff Reporter:
 
RAIPUR
 
Payment of allowance being given to police personnel, deployed in Naxal-affected areas, has been suspended since April 2019 
 
Coming down heavily on the incumbent Congress Government led by Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel over the issue of reported suspension of allowance being given to police personnel deployed in LWE areas, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National Vice-President Dr Raman Singh said stopping this allowance amounts to demoralisation of police personnel. Payment of allowance being given to police personnel, deployed in Naxal-affected areas has been suspended since April 2019. Since the State Government failed to issue the order for extension of the same in March 2019, it resulted into suspension of the said allowance. Commenting on the failure, the BJP National Vice-President said that police stations are identified in Naxal- affected areas in Bastar and Rajnandgaon districts. All are sensitive police stations and had been soft targets of Maoists.
 
Many a times, the Maoists have attacked these police stations and major incidents had taken place. Accordingly, the BJP Government had provisioned special allowance for police personnel posted in these police stations, so as to boost their morale, who’re executing their duties in such difficult situations. How can a State Government forget sanctioning special allowance for such police personnel. Since April they are not getting the special allowance.
 
The former Chief Minister further stated that even the Home Minister doesn’t have any update on the issue. This is an issue which amounts to demoralisation of police force in Naxal-hit areas. “I’m surprised, what kind of review meeting does the Government holds on internal security”, said Dr Singh. Surprisingly, the Home Minister doesn’t know what assistance police force requires in combat zone. The Home Minister should pay attention to Naxal-infested areas at least.
 
It may be recalled that the police personnel posted in Naxal-infested areas used to get 20 per cent and 15 percent of their basic pay as LWE Area Duty Allowance since 2009. The same was hiked by the then BJP Government with effect from July 1, 2015, at three different levels. Accordingly, those police personnel working in hyper sensitive areas will receive 50 percent of their basic, those posted in sensitive areas will receive 35 per cent and those posted in generally infested areas will receive 15 percent of their basic pay. The allowance will be categorised on police station basis and will be applicable till 2018-19. It was applicable for all seven districts in Bastar revenue division and under 9 police stations in Rajnandgaon district and was due for review on March 31, 2019, which the new State Government didn’t do, resulting into stoppage of allowance.