New Delhi:Congress leader Pratap Singh Bajwa has asked the Punjab chief minister to take care of interests of home guard volunteers by amending the Punjab Home Guards Act, 1947 and giving them the right to be treated at par with Punjab Police personnel.
In a letter to Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, Bajwa said the home guard volunteers are discharging duties of law and order since 1984 but they are made to face numerous hardships, starting from meagre salary and harassment in claiming even small entitlements.
"I am requesting your good self to amend the provisions of Punjab Home Guards Act 1947 and provide all the volunteers of Punjab Home Guard a statutory right to be treated at par with the Punjab Police personnel of equivalent rank for the purposes of salary and all other benefits," he said.
Earlier, employees from the other departments were enrolled as volunteers and they were getting salaries and other facilities from their parent department. On retirement they were even granted a pension, he said.
Bajwa said when a personnel of the Punjab Home Guard falls ill or suffers from any domestic problem, no pay leave is granted to him and no health benefit is provided due to which he is left to fend for himself.
In case any personnel of Punjab Home Guard dies, the Congress MP from Punjab said, his family is paid Rs 3 lakh by the insurance company in case of natural death and Rs 6 lakh in the event of accidental death.
However, no benefit is accrued to them by the department or by the state government, he said.
"I would like to point out that these volunteers in Punjab Home Guard are none other than the sons of the soil, who braving all hardships, have chosen to serve their motherland with a sense of devotion and dedication which is no less than being shown by any other uniformed service.
Why should they be deprived of their due only on the ground of some technicality in law, he asked.
"Your good self having been a member of the Armed Forces is well aware of the hardships one faces while performing his or her duties. These sons of the soil are no exception and deserve to be given their just dues," Bajwa said.
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