MHA to take policy decision on organised service benefits to officers: CRPF DG

While interacting with his officers during a video conference, CRPF Director General (DG) AP Maheshwari said that the Ministry of Home Affairs will make a final policy decision for possible changes in the service rules and grant of the organised group A service (OGAS) status to CRPF officers.

New Delhi: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will make a final policy decision for possible changes in the service rules and grant of the organised group A service (OGAS) status to CRPF officers.

CRPF Director General (DG) AP Maheshwari, as per official sources, said this while interacting with his officers during a video conference on Friday.

Officers of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) or paramilitary forces like the CRPF, BSF, ITBP, CISF and SSB have been demanding full grant of the OGAS status and ensuring benefits of the Non-Functional Financial Upgradation (NFFU) to them so that they can have better chances of promotion, command and pay benefits.

They allege that while the MHA had ordered this benefit for them on July 3 last year after the Supreme Court ruled in their favour, the decision has not been implemented by the government fully at the behest of Indian Police Service (IPS) officers, a charge denied by the latter.

According to the officials, the chief of the country's largest paramilitary force said that he has recently met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla and briefed them about the issue and also requested for an early meeting of the ministry and the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) to thrash out the issue related to the possible change in service and recruitment rules.

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The DG, officials said, was asked by a CRPF cadre officer during the video conference as to when they will be getting the full benefits of the OGAS and the NFFU.

Maheshwari told this officer that the issue involves an analysis of service and recruitment rules by the MHA and whatever was to be done at his end has been finalised and sent to the ministry, officials said.

The CRPF chief also explained that he has sent official recommendations for the senior administrative grade officers while those for the higher administrative grade officials will be sent by today and for the junior administrative grade by the next week, they said.

"I have met the home minister and the home secretary...I have requested them that as the issue has already taken some time hence both the MHA and DoPT should sit together and finalise the policy...as to what changes in service rules are to be done. It is a policy decision to be taken by the MHA," the DG was quoted as saying.

The DG added that the CRPF brass "respects" the Supreme Court decision made in this context and a positive decision is expected, they said.

Maheshwari said as the final decision is to be taken by the ministry he would "not be able to say anything" at present, as he replied to the officers' query.

A senior CRPF officer said that the DG has asked all officers to "directly communicate" with him any grievance including those related to the OGAS issue.

The DG said during the conference that he, as the head of the force, will take all suggestions and issues of the officers to the MHA and will bat for them.

Some CAPF officers have gone to courts in the recent past seeking its intervention to ensure them full benefits of the OGAS announced last year and curtailing the tenure of IPS officers in their services up to a certain number and rank.

These officers also argue that the Inspector General (IG) rank posts should be filled exclusively by the cadre officers while IPS officers say this is against the present recruitment rules of all-India services like theirs and an organised service has some specific attributes not fulfilled by the CAPF cadre at present.

It is to be noted that about 10 lakh personnel-strong paramilitary forces are deployed for rendering a variety of internal security duties and border guarding and their officer cadre comprises about 15,000 men and women.

(PTI Report)