UP govt U-turn: 25,000 home guards to stay in service

According to a letter issued by Uttar Pradesh Additional Chief Secretary (home) Avaneesh Kumar Awasthi to Principal Secretary, Homeguards department and ADG police headquarters, home guards will be given duty as per the limit of available budget allocated to for Homeguards department.

Around a week ago, the state government had decided to reconsider its decision after an uproar over the move.

The decision had been taken owing to budget constraints in the wake of the Supreme Court order hiking honorarium of the homeguards by 40 per cent —from Rs 500 to Rs 672. At present, nearly 90,000 homeguards are deployed in the state police. Last year, the UP Police had attached an additional 25,000 home guards.

The move had led to strong objections from UP Home Guards Avaitanik Adhikari Evam Karamchari Association which held a meeting to condemn the move. The association’s state general secretary, Mujibur Rehman Ansari, said if the government does not take back its decision Home Guards would stage a protest in Lucknow.

Opposition parties, including the Congress, SP and the BSP, had also targeted the government over the plan.

“After detailed thinking on facts mentioned in September 26 and 27 letter by ADG Homeguards headquarter and by September 27 letter by the state DGP, keeping in mind the upcoming festivals, it has been decided that the present system based on payment through home department budget will continue till next order. Duty of all home guards will be fixed till limit of available budget in home guards department,” read the letter issued by Awasthi. The letter also directed to announce that the said orders are to be implemented with immediate effect.

Earlier, sources had said the plan to do away with 25,000 home guards was mooted at a meeting in August this year when Chief Secretary R K Tiwari had conveyed the plan to senior police officers after the state Finance Department advised the state Home Department to pay home guards “within available budget”.

According to a senior government official, hiking the daily allowance of the home guards would cost the state an extra expenditure of Rs 10 to Rs 12 crore every month.