If crime doesn’t pay, policing it doesn’t pay either. Alarmed over the high cost of low paid cops, Delhi Police seeks revamp in pay & perks
Delhi Police constables are the backbone of policing in the national Capital and work round-the-clock. Their work schedule stretches up to 60 hours or more without a break. To make matters even worse, thousands of these constables are forced to live in slums in the most unsanitary conditions as Delhi Police is faced with shortage of housing. It is a fact that a majority of the constables suffer from several chronic diseases due to extreme working conditions. In order to enhance their quality of life and ensure better living conditions to their family members, top officials of Delhi Police have recommended an increase in the wages of constables, sub-inspectors and inspectors. These recommendations have already been sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Subsequently, it will be forwarded to the 7th Pay Commission for consideration and approval.
Apart from a higher salary structure, top Delhi Police officials have recommended 60 days additional pay every year for constables to compensate for their weekly holidays that they are unable to avail due to extreme work pressure. There is also a provision for risk allowance for these personnel as they face huge risk to their lives during fierce encounters in the city. Once implemented, the salary of a police constable will increase from the current Rs 24,000 to Rs 32,000. The salary of an inspector level officer will increase from Rs 42,000 to Rs 50,000 if these recommendations are accepted by the 7th Pay Commission.
“Salary structures of Delhi policemen are lower than those of other States and Union Territories and this compels Delhi policemen to live in slums and unauthorised colonies. This hand-to-mouth existence is seen as a major reason why constables indulge in corrupt practices and take petty bribes. Out of the total 64,903 lower-rank officers, around 12,000 of them are forced to live in slums. “Their children are denied the benefit of help in education and lack of care pushes their kids into bad company,” the proposal says.
A constable and head constable work for a minimum 16 hours a day under inhospitable conditions and are away from home for weeks. “To make the Capital safer for the people, they even face several chronic health problems,” says the proposal. Around 15 per cent of the total police personnel, especially traffic cops, “suffer from tuberculosis”.
As per recommendation, a constable’s salary should increase from the pay band of Rs 5,200-Rs 20,200 to Rs 10,300-Rs 34,800 with grade pay from Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,200. Delhi Police has asked for revision of pay at par with salaries of constables in Chandigarh, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. It also recommended that salary of a head constable be raised from Rs 26,000 to Rs 32,000.
Delhi Police recommends that the pay of a sub-inspector be raised from pay band Rs 9,300- Rs 34,800 with grade pay of Rs 4,200 to pay band of Rs 10,300-Rs 34,800 with pay grade of Rs 4,600. The salary will increase from Rs 32,000 to Rs 37,000. The sub-inspector should get pay at par with postgraduate teachers or excise inspectors. An inspector’s pay should increase from Rs 44,000 to Rs 50,000.
As per proposal, the Delhi Police also recommends a ‘risk allowance’ (25 per cent of basic pay) to cops serving at specialised units — Special Cell, Crime Branch and Traffic Police. “Many police personnel have sacrificed their lives performing their duty like inspector Mohan Chand Sharma, and head constable Rajbir Singh. Recently constable Mana Ram was crushed to death by a traffic violator,” the proposal says.
Constables and head constables used to get Rs 60 per month as bicycle allowance and the sub-inspectors and inspectors Rs 300 as petrol allowance. It has proposed to raise conveyance allowance to Rs 3,000 for all the lower ranking officers as they travel around 50 km per day.
The proposal also recommends this should be increased by at least 10 times in view of an increase in the consumer price index. The proposal states that as in a few Central Government departments where bureaucrats are given 14 months pay in a year, police should also be entitled to get 14 months pay in a year — 60 days extra pay.