Delegation meets CS; demands rectification of salary anomalies

Jammu, Sept 17: Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo on Tuesday asked the principal secretary, home department, to look into the issue of irregularities in pay of 1,200 inspectors of Jammu and Kashmir Police (JKP) and their demand for implementation of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) judgment against Jammu.

The directive came in response to a petition submitted to him (Dulloo) by a delegation comprising retired DySP (R) Sudershan Mehta and Vivek Sharma at the Civil Secretariat in Jammu today.

The delegation also submitted another petition to the chief secretary, seeking an in-depth CBI probe into the misappropriation of funds allocated under the World Bank scheme for “capacity building and disaster preparedness” to the Department of Homeland Security, Directorate of Civil Defence and the National Disaster Relief Fund.

The delegation requested the Chief Secretary to “implement the long pending CAT, Jammu Tribunal judgment regarding pay anomalies (7450 ​​- 11500) in favour of around 1200 police officers of Jammu and Kashmir with effect from January 1, 2006.”

“Pay anomalies have adversely affected them (inspectors) and caused monetary loss of Rs 9,000 per month. The chief secretary has sought details of this pay anomaly issue and will further report it to the principal secretary, home department,” Mehta said.

“The delegation, in another petition, has also sought an in-depth CBI investigation into the misappropriation of funds allocated to DHS, Civil Defence and National Disaster Relief Fund under the World Bank scheme for ‘Capacity Building and Disaster Preparedness’,” Mehta said, citing the petition. “A complaint in this regard has been registered with the Central Vigilance Commissioner, New Delhi and the Director, Central Bureau of Investigation, New Delhi and forwarded to the Chief Secretary, Jammu and Kashmir in 2022 and to CBI, Jammu and Kashmir in 2023,” Mehta said.

“Since then, the complaints have been pending. The chief secretary took details of the issue and he (CS) then referred it to the secretary to the commissioner, General Administration Department (GAD) for further scrutiny,” Mehta said.

The petition mentioned that the CAT Jammu judgment was in favour of the Naib Tehsildar as the Sixth Pay Commission had increased the pay scale from 6500-10500 to 7450-11500. The Government of India and the State Government of Jammu and Kashmir merged the two pay scales into a single pay scale of 7450-11500.

“These benefits were provided to the departmental officers and AAOs in Jammu and Kashmir from January 1, 2006. However, the remaining officers belonging to the same pay scale (7450-11500) in different departments are still fighting for full implementation of these benefits from January 1, 2006. The CAT bench also directed the respondents to provide monetary benefits from January 1, 2006, which were provided to AAOs and departmental officers,” Mehta submitted.

“I personally requested the Financial Commissioner, Home Department to raise the matter with DGP Manoj Sinha in the interest of all serving and retired police inspectors. The then DGP Dilbag Singh, who was the chairman of the Pay Anomaly Committee, also raised the issue with the government. In May 2024, DGP RR Swain wrote to the Chief Secretary, Home Department, stating that this pay anomaly has adversely affected around 1,200 police inspectors of Jammu and Kashmir Police since January 1, 2006, who are currently losing Rs 9,000 per month,” Mehta informed the Chief Secretary and requested him to issue appropriate orders to redress the grievances of the affected inspectors.