Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Sunday opposed the reported move of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to merge the DSP cadre of the Chandigarh Police with the police officers of all Union Territories, including the Delhi Police.
Capt Amarinder, in fact, demanded that status quo be maintained till the territorial dispute of Chandigarh between Punjab and Haryana is settled.
At the same time, he also directed the Chief Secretary Karan Avtar Singh to initiate steps for the establishment of a special cell, in the General Administration branch, to deal with all Chandigarh-related issues in order to protect Punjab’s interests, and bring a formal proposal in this regard in the next cabinet meeting.
“Any move to erode Punjab’s stake in Chandigarh is not acceptable. The existing pattern of all Chandigarh UT posts, being shared between Punjab and Haryana in 60:40 ratio, should continue,” he said.
The reported move to merge the Chandigarh DSP post with other UTs would disturb the fine balance achieved over the years, he said, warning that it could be counter-productive.
Besides, he said that any such move would limit the avenues for the career progression of senior Punjab officers in line for promotion.
Capt Amarinder said that the MHA proposal would lead to all sanctioned posts of DSP of the Chandigarh UT being merged with the entry grade of the combined cadre of Delhi and other UTs, which would allow their transfer or posting in any UT.
He expressed concern over the attempts to gradually dilute Punjab’s stake in Chandigarh, pointing to the fact that a similar erosion had already taken place, over the years, in the post of Class-I Gazetted Officers. Punjab would not allow further erosion of its interests, he added.