The Uttarakhand police have formed a Police Personnel Grievance Redressal Committee (PPGRC) to address the issue of its personnel, especially the lower ranks as part of an exercise to reform the force and reduce stress.
Under the initiatives taken by the new director general of police (DGP) Ashok Kumar, the police headquarters is also considering reducing the tenure of hill postings for the personnel which has been a major issue in the department for lower ranks.
Kumar said the formation of PPGRC was an important step for the welfare of police personnel. The department would also take a series of steps for the force’s welfare.
“Under this new initiative, a WhatsApp number would be given to all working in the department. A police personnel can lodge his or her complaint or give an application for a request. A solution would be given to him or her within a week,” said Kumar.
He said the committee would comprise four members at the police headquarters including an inspector general as its chairperson, a deputy inspector general as its vice-chairperson, superintendent of police (personnel) as member secretary and a deputy superintendent of police (headquarters) as its member.
The DGP also said the headquarters is also considering the reduction of posting tenure of personnel especially of the lower ranks in hilly areas which has been a contentious issue.
“There is sometimes discontent among some personnel on posting in the hilly areas of the state due to its long tenure. The tenure for a constable is 16 years while that of a sub-inspector is 8 years in hilly areas. We will try to cut the former to 12 and the latter to about 5-6 years,” he said.
On the issue of postings, Kumar also said that each personnel will be given three options for if and he would be given a chance to choose as per preference.
“We would try to focus on the reforms for the welfare of our personnel. But we will also focus on ensuring optimum work among our men and women. They can’t make excuses to escape work. When it will come to welfare, we assure them that would be fully taken care of,” said Kumar.
Police personnel have welcomed the move saying it will help them to address their issues and get a solution.
A 44-year-old head constable in Dehradun said, “The moves taken by the headquarters, especially the redressal committee, are ready good. It will give a platform to us in the lower ranks to raise our issues.”
