Maharashtra: Relief as compulsory service period for SRPF reduced to 12 years

The State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) – a special armed force exclusive to the state — has 16 battalions and a staff strength of 22,000 personnel. It is used in sensitive areas such as Gadchiroli and is also sent to various parts of the state to maintain law and order during sensitive occasions.

Frequent transfers are par for the course in the force, due to which the personnel have to stay away from their families for months on end.

The decision to reduce compulsory service period in the force was taken on Wednesday during a meeting which had state Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil, state Environment Minister Aditya Thakeray, DGP Sanjay Pandey and SRPF chief ADG Archana Tyagi in attendance.

During the meeting, it was also decided that an SRPF officer shifted to the district police has to serve only two years in headquarters before being assigned a police station or any other executive posting. Earlier, an SRPF official had to wait for five years to get an executive posting.

Welcoming the move, an SRPF constable said, “For months together, we have to stay away from our families. Sometimes, we are in Gadchiroli for three months and then sent to Mumbai for a month-and-a-half. We are away from our families eight to nine months in a year. With this decision, at least after 12 years, we could get a posting which would allow us to also give time to our families.”