Cabinet approves 7 per cent DA, monetary benefits to KPS officers without promotion

The Jammu and Kashmir government has approved 7 per cent dearness allowance for its employees with effect from July 1, 2016.

The state Cabinet which met here on Wednesday approved the release of the Dearness Allowance instalment at the rate of 7 per cent of pay, raising the total Dearness Allowance of the state government employees from 125 per cent to 132 per cent, with effect from July 1, 2016.

“The DA of 7 per cent has been approved,” a cabinet minister told The Tribune.

He said the cabinet also approved the CSC report, which had recommended that senior police officers awaiting promotions to the rank of DIGs should be provided monetary benefits, without ranks.

The CSC which met on Monday about caderisation of KPS into Indian Police Service (IPS) has sent its recommendation to the Home Department.

The BJP had opposed the proposal of reserving two IG and four DIG posts for KPS officers, creating a wedge in the coalition.

However, after the differences between coalition partners–PDP and BJP–over the issue, a cabinet sub-committee was constituted on December 15, 2016, to iron out the differences.

The CSC has agreed to post senior KPS officers in the pay and grade of DIGs and IGs but without the rank.

The KPS is one of the feeding services of the Kashmir Administrative Service (KAS) like revenue, accounts, and excise and taxation to which candidates are selected based on merit-cum-preference in the Combined Competitive Services. However, the KPS has not been classified as a state cadre service, resulting in stagnation in promotion among middle-rung police officers.

At present, the KPS officers are not eligible for promotion beyond the level of Senior Superintendent of Police, while their counterparts in civil administration can reach up to the level of administrative secretaries without their induction into the IAS.

Nearly 50 IPS cadre posts to be filled by departmental promotees are lying vacant for the past 15 years in the absence of promotion of any KPS officer from the rank of SSP to the DIG.

The government also approved a master plan for ski-resort Gulmarg. It also approved modifications in the state industrial policy. The government has also convened a four-day Assembly session on GST from June 17.

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