Ahead of launching a major offensive against Naxals, the CRPF has planned to take up a slew of measures to motivate jawans and officers. Besides improving service conditions, the paramilitary force is also likely to give out-of-turn promotion of non-gazetted officers for exceptional performance in the Naxal theatres.
With all-out operations against the ultras to be launched soon in the core areas of the Naxals, the paramilitary has already streamlined its deployments by limiting the number of years a jawan has to put in anti-Naxal operations and offering choice postings thereafter. The profile of the personnel will also be young so that they could meet the rigours of the operations.
The CRPF also has plans to set up an examination centre for limited Departmental Competitive Examination (lDCE) at Bastar area in Chhattisgarh so that its personnel deployed there can easily access the centre without any problems. The proposal was discussed at senior officers’ conference of the paramilitary force recently, and CRPF Director General Prakash Mishra has approved the measures.
Another proposal to grant a weightage of five marks to the personnel from Naxal areas appearing for lDCE is also under consideration, and the same will be applicable once the recruitment rules are tweaked accordingly. The DG has also approved a proposal of choice posting out of three postings and preferential treatment in deputation and undertaking courses in other organisations by personnel who have served the desired number of years in the Naxal areas.
According to the new norms for postings approved for the Naxal areas, the Deputy Inspectors General (DIGs) will be posted for two years and Commandants down to the constables will not be required to serve more than three years. While DIsG, Commandant and second-in-command will be chosen and handpicked by the CRPF Directorate here, Deputy Commandant to constables will be below 45 years of age to keep the profile of the force young in such areas.
Those deployed in the Naxal areas will not be detailed for any training/courses other promotional courses and skill enhancement courses related to the Naxal theatre. However, mere postings in these areas will not be the criteria for availing these incentives. The incentives will given based on an objective system of assessment of operational performance taking into account GPS logs, number of operations undertaken, recoveries made during such anti-Naxal exercises and other such achievements.
The CRPF has classified Narayanpur, Sukma, Bastar, Bijapur, Dantewada and Kondagaon districts of Chhattisgarh as “core areas” of Naxalism and the areas falling under these districts will be treated as Special Operational Zone for launching coordinated offensives against the ultra-left extremists.