From now on the CAPF officers and jawans, who lose their limbs or suffer any permanent disability during operations will continue to remain in service and get their due pay and honour apart from a one-time basic monetary package. The announcement was made by the Home Secretary Govid Mohan on Sunday as he spoke to the personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on the occasion of the force's 87th Raising Day.
In order to finalise recommendations and the modalities for the roll out of the plan in the next few months, a committee of officers has been constituted under the chairmanship of CRPF Director General Gyanendra Pratap Singh, as per a senior CAPF official.
The officer said there are hundreds of CAPF personnel who have lost their legs, hands or eyes and have suffered permanent disability due to improvised explosive device (IED) blasts or similar incidents during operations over the last decades. While there are hardly any cases where a jawan or officer was removed from service due to such injuries, many suffer due to lack of promotions as they fail to conform to the linked fitness norms, the officer said.
What is the purpose of the committee?
The committee will work to relax the above-mentioned guidelines, assuring that the officers and jawans suffering amputation or any other permanent disability get their due promotions and linked facilities that they would have got otherwise, he said.
"The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has decided that the jawans and officers who lose their limbs or suffer bodily disability during operations will not be removed from service. Such personnel will be posted to work in some chosen units of these forces and it will be ensured that their pay, allowances are continued till their retirement," said Home Secretary Mohan.
"We will implement the best practices that are available across the globe in this domain...including limb replacement surgeries," he said.
"This is being done to assure our jawans that a strong MHA and Government of India are there to back them up when they face adversities...," the home secretary added.
Mohan also asked the CAPFs to prepare for "emerging threats" and ensure that they adapt to new technology, which was their "biggest friend" in operations and intelligence gathering. MHA will ensure new technology gadgets and equipment to the forces so that the troops in operations are not affected by physical or mental health issues, he said. Mohan said Home Minister Amit Shah, while addressing a conference of security officers on Saturday, has stated that as India's economy grows and it makes a tall stride amongst the comity of nations, "challenges" on the security front will "increase".
"Without the CAPFs, the law and order of this country will not be strong and hence it is important that all the requirements of these forces are provided in a fast paced manner," the secretary said.
Talking about ensuring "basic amenities" to the troops of these forces, Mohan said he recently conducted a tour of Manipur and found the women personnel were facing "major" issues related to "basic facilities" while undertaking on-duty movements.
He said the remote camps of the CAPFs, including of the CRPF, in the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected regions were also facing the "lack of basic amenities" like roads, electricity, drinking water, mobile connectivity, etc.
"The MHA is committed to ensuring that all such basic facilities are ensured to the troops very very quickly...," he said.
Mohan said the MHA was providing a number of technical gadgets to the forces under its command, including drones that can penetrate thick jungle foliage and beneath the ground to detect IEDs. The secretary, during the event, awarded gallantry medals to CRPF personnel and to the family members of those who were killed in action in anti-Naxal operations and counter-terrorist duties in Jammu and Kashmir.
CRPF DG Singh also spoke on the occasion and said a committee of officers has been formed in the force that will recommend an action plan to improve "basic amenities" for women personnel. The first battalion of the CRPF was raised in the Neemuch town of Madhya Pradesh on July 27 in 1939 as the Crown Representative's Police (CRP) under the British rule. Post Independence, in 1949, it was re-christened as the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) under the Indian Union by first home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
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