GUWAHATI, July 14 � Some officers of the Assam Police Service who have completed more than 17 years of service (1997 batch) are yet to get charge post due to the stagnation created by poor cadre management.
The annual cadre review is not done in case of APS officers unlike in the States of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, etc. Without such review, the Government of Assam is recruiting officers in large batches at irregular intervals, leading to stagnation in promotion.
Official sources told The Assam Tribune that there was no gradation list of APS as on date and that the officers were unaware of their seniority and position. There is one Provisional Gradation List published in the year 2009, which was valid for one month only but despite that, the Government is promoting APS officers on the basis of such provisional lists.
Worse, the Government is guilty of violating an order of the Gauhati High Court dated February 19, 2014, that had asked the Government in the Home Department to publish a gradation list within 45 days and to promote officers accordingly.
�But for reasons best known to the Government, it has violated the court�s order and has not taken any step till date even after the expiry of five months of the court order. There are four posts of SPs lying vacant in the State and these posts are for APS cadre officers. But the Government is not in a hurry to promote APS officers in the said posts and instead is waiting for IPS officers to become eligible for promotion in the rank of SP,� sources said.
It is felt that the post of Commandants of India Reserve Battalions and Assam Police Task Force BNs, posts like SP (SB) (E) and SSP, CID, should be made cadre posts so that non-cadre officers have a better opportunity to enter the Indian Police Service.
Also, sources added, it may perhaps be considered if an Addl. SP who has completed 14 years of total service and more than seven years as Addl. SP may be inducted into the IPS by reserving some posts of Additional SP as cadre posts.
It is desirable that some posts in the rank of Inspector General of Police and Deputy Inspector General of Police should be kept reserved for those officers who could not qualify for entering the Indian Police Service due to age bar. �This procedure has already been followed in the Assam Civil Service where seven posts in the rank of Addl. Secretary, four posts in the rank of Secretary and three posts in the rank of Commissioner are kept reserved for officers from ACS. Similarly, this procedure has been adopted by the Forest Department where 12 posts in the rank of Conservator and three posts in the rank of Chief Conservator of Forest,� sources said.
In the meeting, the officers were of the opinion that at least five posts in the rank of Inspector General of Police and ten posts in the rank of Deputy Inspector General of Police may be earmarked for the purpose.
It has been noticed that the posts of Superintendent of Police in districts have been earmarked as cadre and non-cadre districts. The criteria for selecting the districts into cadre and non-cadre posts are not known to the officers.
�The officers in the meeting felt that the criteria for selection should be transparent and known to all. The authorities should enhance the capacity of non-cadre posts in the districts so that the Assam Police Service officers get better opportunity in operating at district level,� sources said.
