BHOPAL (Madhya Pradesh): The latest cadre review of the Indian Police Service (IPS) in the state has come as a big disappointment to the officers of the State Police Service (SPS). Under the IPS (Fixation of Cadre Strength) Regulations 2022, published in the Gazette of India on June 24, 2002, the number of posts in the IPS set aside for promotees from the SPS has been increased by just five.
The last cadre review was done in 2015. This exercise is done once every five years and hence the next review was due in 2020. However, it was undertaken in 2022.
Under the cadre review, the total number of posts of IPS officers in the state has increased from 305 in 2015 to 319. Of them, 222 posts will be for RRs (Regular Recruits) and 97 for the promotees. In 2015, the corresponding figures were 213 and 92 respectively. This means that while the total number of posts has risen by 14, the number of posts for promotees has increased only by five. The new posts have been sanctioned for Bhopal and Indore, where the police commissioner system has been introduced.
The state government had forwarded its proposals for cadre review in 2018. The state had proposed the creation of posts of SPs for the Special Police Establishment of the Lokayukta, EOW, STF, ATF, and Cyber Crime. However, this demand was rejected by the Centre. The Centre has allowed only a 4.86 percent increase in the number of posts. Normally, the number of posts is not increased by more than five percent. That was why new posts of SPs have not been sanctioned.
The meeting of the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) for promoting SPS officers to the IPS has not been held in the state so far this year. Ten posts earmarked for promotees are already vacant. Adding the new posts, the number would go up to 15. It remains to be seen whether the DPC will be conducted only for the 10 posts for the additional five posts, too.
