The Union Home Ministry has allowed risk and hardship allowance to non-field units of CRPF in Jammu & Kashmir and Naxal-affected States after revising the earlier guidelines which provided for such allowances exclusively to the personnel deployed in the field units and not those located in a district headquarter.
The move is expected to positively impact thousands of the CRPF personnel as the paramilitary has deployment over one lakh men in Jammu & Kashmir and Naxal-affected areas.
“It is clarified that since the new classification of field areas has been made on geographical basis for drawal of RHA for all CRPF offices situated in a particular classified field area, hence Risk and Hardship Allowance is applicable to all the officers and personnel posted in the same classified area,” reads an internal circular issued on April 16.
“…approval is hereby accorded to draw RHA to all Officers/personnel to draw RHA in the areas classified vide MHA OM (office memo) dated 22/2/2019..while issuing sanction for RH Allowance, the complete postal address of the office including Block , sub division, tehsil and district shall be mentioned.
These allowances are applicable wef 22/2/2019,” it further said.
A committee was constituted under the chairmanship of Union Home Secretary to review the existing classification of field areas in respect of Jammu & Kashmir and Left Wing Extremism affected districts where troops are deployed for anti-Naxal operations.
On the basis of report of the Committee, the Union Home Ministry issued on February 22 thi year conveyed sanction to the CRPF to draw risk and hardship allowance according to field areas classified in a series of annexures to the order.
After the order from the Home Ministry, a number of references were received at the CRPF headquarters here from various CRPF offices from Jammu & Kashmir and Naxal-hit States asking for permission to allow them the allowance according to the new classification of field areas as cleared by the Home Ministry in February.
Following this, a clarification from the Financial Advisor was taken before the paramilitary allowed the allowance in the entire terror or Nazalism hit districts of Jammu & Kashmir besides ultra-Left insurgency affected areas, an official said.