Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma informed state police officers on April 7 that they would have to pay the wages of their subordinates if they are engaged in personal work since the government would soon stop paying them.
The chief minister told the media that there have been reports that certain police officials used people from various armed battalions for personal and household tasks.
“I have asked the commandants of the armed battalions and superintendent of police of various districts to give detailed reports and information within 10 days if there are such personnel. If such practice continued, police officers concerned would have to pay the salary of these police personnel and the government would not pay it,” said CM Sarma, who also holds the home portfolio.
The police personnel are recruited for maintaining law and order and government duties, he stressed.
The Assam cabinet had earlier decided that a personal security officer (PSO) for important personalities would be deployed based on the basis of the core security review and for those holding the constitutional posts.
“There were 4,000 PSOs in Assam, already we have reduced them to 700. We have come up with guidelines as to how much PSOs there would be for ministers, MLAs and the leader of opposition,” said Sarma, who has himself reduced his number of PSOs by half.
Before the decision, Assam spent Rs 400 crore for the salaries and allowances of the PSOs.
