The CRPF provides security cover to almost 150 VIPs.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) today in Lok Sabha acknowledged the issue of the gap in special allowances among Central armed forces and said they are considering the proposal of equal allowances after the matter was raised by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) with the home ministry.
The Central Armed Forces provide security cover to VIPs (Very Important Persons) and special allowances are given to the personnel which has its own benefits but "few selected" get these benefits, which has led to a lot of heartburn among forces.
The CRPF provides security cover to almost 150 VIPs including Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the Gandhi family. The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) also provide security cover to the VIPs.
Speaking to NDTV, a senior home ministry official said, "Almost 80 per cent of VIPs are protected by these forces so the issue of parity is being considered." The MHA also sought similar proposals on the issue of special allowances from CISF and the ITBP.
"Nature of our job is such that we have to be always alert but we do not get similar allowances," a CRPF personnel said off-the-record.
The Special Protection Group (SPG) which is tasked to protect the Prime Minister, alone gets a 40 per cent "special allowance" while National Security Guards (NSG) gets around 25-30 per cent, the CRPF personnel said.
The Ministry of Home Affairs informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply that the VIP Security Wing Directorate of CRPF was created on an ad-hoc basis in 2020 and was regularised from January 31, 2023.
According to Minister for State (Home Affairs) Nityanand Rai, a proposal from CRPF for the grant of Special Security Allowance to the personnel of the VIP Security Wing of CRPF is under consideration.
"The CAPF personnel, who are deputed to SPG, NSG, etc. are getting Special Security Allowance. However, the CRPF personnel posted to VIP Security Units and different categories of security-protected persons are not getting special allowance since the issue of grant of Special Security Allowance to them could not be considered by the 7th Central Pay Commission as the VIP Security Wing Directorate of CRPF was created on an ad-hoc basis on 01.06.2020 and was regularised w.e.f. 31.01.2023 only," Minister for State (Home Affairs) Nityanand Rai stated in his written reply.