Even as critics in the police department raise questions over four IPS officers being promoted from the IGP to ADGP rank, the Haryana government has justified their promotions ordered in May this year. In July, Haryana Vidhan Sabha’s Public Accounts Committee headed by Congress MLA Varun Chaudhary had asked the state government to explain the “urgency behind the promotion of four IPS officers from the post of IGP to ADGP”. In response to this, state additional chief secretary (home) TVSN Prasad has recently sent a communication to the Vidhan Sabha secretariat explaining the government’s point of view. While referring to the Central government’s guidelines of 2010, the additional chief secretary (ACS) mentioned that the officers who have put in 25 years of service are eligible for consideration for promotion to the rank of ADGP. Explaining the exigency to promote officers in excess of the sanctioned posts, the ACS in the letter stated: “The screening committee after examining the service record of IPS officers of the eligible batch and keeping in view their length of service and completing all other eligibility criteria for promotion to the next higher post, makes its recommendation to the state government for their promotion to the rank of ADGP. The state government, based on administrative and operational requirements, determines the rank and seniority of the officers to be posted against certain posts.” According to Prasad’s letter, at present, there are 30 sanctioned posts in the rank of DGP and ADGP in the state, and only 22 officers are posted against these posts. “As per previous practice, any junior officer can draw his salary against any higher sanctioned vacant post.” Replying to the query related to financial implications, the ACS mentioned: “The state government determines the seniority and rank of the officer to be posted against certain posts, which are critical, based on functional requirements at that time. In particular, officers in the rank of DG and ADG are selected to occupy certain posts based on the criticality of the post, and the seniority and experience the post demands, given circumstances at that point of time, in public interest. Hence as long as officers in these senior ranks are not in excess of the combined sanctioned strength of these posts, there is no overall financial implication, as their salaries are drawn either in the same rank or against the vacant higher rank posts, in their own pay scale, as per previous practice.” According to the ACS, at present six IPS officers (including the officer on Central deputation) are in the DG rank and 17 IPS officers are in the rank of ADGP after their promotions. The ACS admitted that currently the sanctioned posts in the rank of ADGP are only 14 which — six cadre posts and eight ex-cadre posts. Newsletter | Click to get the day's best explainers in your inbox The current issue belongs to the promotion of four IPS officers – Mamta Singh, Hanif Qureshi, M Ravi Kiran and K K Rao – from the post of IGP to ADGP in May this year. As many as 14 posts of ADGP rank were available in Haryana in May. But with the promotion of four more IPS officers, the number of police officers occupying the post of ADGP had gone to 17. On its part, the police have proposed to convert four ex-cadre posts of DGP into ADGP to meet the shortfall in ADGP rank as the questions were raised over the promotions alleging the same was done despite “non-availability of adequate vacancies in the ADGP rank”.
