Auradkar committee’s police pay scale report partially accepted after three years

The State government on Tuesday announced hikes in the salaries of certain cadre of police after accepting the Raghavendra Auradkar Committee report that was submitted nearly three years ago.

The full report, however, has not been accepted, with personnel of the ranks of Police Sub-Inspector (PSI), Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) and Class V employees (followers and Jamadars) being ignored.

The biggest beneficiaries will be the cadre of Police Constables (PC) that has a sanctioned strength of over 63,000 posts, over 22,000 posts of Head Constables (HC), Assistant Sub-Inspectors (ASI), Police Inspectors (PI) and those who are Superintendents of Police (SP) from a non-IPS cadre.

While the committee had suggested a 30% hike for ASIs, the government has accorded a hike of around 10%.

The Auradkar-led committee, which was formed to look into pay disparities among police personnel based on the recommendations of the 6th Pay Commission, had noted that police personnel were paid lower than their counterparts who have the same educational qualifications in the Revenue and other departments. The committee had also noted that the pay to police personnel of Karnataka was lower than that in neighbouring States. For instance, constables were found to be paid 30% and 60% less than their counterparts in Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, respectively. Pay disparity was found to be among the reasons for high attrition among new recruits.

The report had recommended equalisation of the pay scale for nine levels of cadre, of which five have been accepted. It had also recommended upgrading grants and special allowances. If the full report is accepted, the hikes will cost the State exchequer ₹875 crore annually, assuming all the sanctioned posts are filled.

“The elevation of pay scales at entry for police constables and sub-inspectors will address the problem of dissatisfaction in Karnataka police, help sustain high morale among police personnel, and stem the increasing trend of attrition… The elevation of pay scales at promotion for head constables, ASIs, PIs, DSPs and SPs will provide a fair career progression path and equivalence with similarly placed personnel in other departments and police personnel in other States,” the report states.

The Auradkar committee compiled data from various departments in Karnataka, 10 States, and general data on police organisations in India. The committee also analysed the reports of past Pay Commissions/Committees at the Central and State levels. After data compilation, analysis and consultation with stakeholders, the committee arrived at specific recommendations.

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