Larger cities like Ahmedabad limit promotion opportunities.
Incredible it may sound, but Ahmedabad is the least favourable city among police constables when it comes to their posting. Reason: A constable once posted in Ahmedabad city may have to wait for over two decades to get promotion as head constable. This, however, is not the case when it comes to being posted in smaller districts.
The anomaly prevails because the state government has not framed a uniform policy for promotion of constables across the state. As a result, a large number of police constables are deprived of the chances to be promoted to the higher rank even though they have potential. The issue was also raised in Gujarat high court during the hearing of a writ petition filed recently by a group of constables through advocate Ashok Parekh.
According to sources familiar with the development, “A constable is not entitled for inter-district transfers like sub-inspectors and inspectors. Their performance and inter-district transfers are decided by the district police head or police commissioner. The constables posted in smaller cities get early promotion compared to their counterparts in big cities because in smaller cities the number of constables is much low. Lesser the strength (number) of personnel, higher the chances of promotion.’’
For instance, there is a constable in Ahmedabad city police who has been in the same rank for 25 years without a promotion. “I have to suffer a lot because I never got promoted to head constable,” said the constable, narrating his plight. “Because of this, I will never become a PSI or get higher pay-scale. As a result, my social and family life is affected. There are 1,500 constables in the city facing identical problem,” he told DNA.
According to details claimed in a petition filed in the high court, “Constables in districts like Narmada and Dangs get promotion in seven to eight years. In Kutch, it takes 10 to 12 years, in Surendranagar 13 to 15 years, while in Ahmedabad (rural) the period may be 20 to 22 years. In Ahmedabad police commissionerate, it usually takes 22 to 24 years for the constable to be promoted as head constable.”
This situation prevails despite various representations made to the state government. “The number of such cases is high in Ahmedabad city and rural apart from other commissionerates like Vadodara, Rajkot and Surat. The constables have to wait for years to get one promotion,” said Naresh Brahmbhatt, president of proposed constables, head constables and ASI union. “They are given pay-scale of head constable but not given the designation. We have made several representation in past, but nothing has happened,” Brahmbhatt claimed.
The top brass of the police seems to be aware of the situation. “This is a problem, which only the state government can address,” said a top police official.
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