Ahead of the Police Divas tomorrow, chief minister Mamata Banerjee today announced increasing the recruitment age limit and a host of other sops for police personnel. “Police officials had some long-standing demands, which we have tried to resolve. For the recruitment of constables, we have increased the upper-age limit, which was earlier 27 to 30 years.

This will help a number of trained forces to be part of the recruitment process,” said Miss Banerjee after the state Cabinet meeting at Nabanna. The Cabinet further decided to provide relaxation of the upper age limit up to 35 years.

This apart, relaxation in physical measurement will also be provided during promotion for constables, civic volunteers, village volunteers, NDRF and civil defence personnel. There has also been relaxation for compassionate appointments, under the exempted category with respect to age and physical measurement to the next of kin of police officials.

“This basically means that those police officers, who die on duty, their next of kin will be given jobs and will get relaxation in terms of age and physical measurement,” Miss Banerjee added. “We have brought parity in pay of contractual drivers of Kolkata Police and West Bengal Police. Now, contractual drivers of Kolkata Police will get Rs 13,500, while their counterparts in West Bengal Police will get Rs 15,000 per month.

This has been done because Kolkata Police’s jurisdiction is less than that of West Bengal Police,” she said. She said that wireless operators and helpers in West Bengal Police and Kolkata Police haven’t got promotions for the last many years.

The facility of promotion will, henceforth, be provided to these officers. Promotion of Constable to assistant sub-inspector and assistant sub-inspector to sub-inspector in Kolkata Police will also be mandated. Similar action has been done for the West Bengal force. Kolkata Police’s Mounted Police battalion will also be eligible for promotion.

The Cabinet further decided officers of assistant commissioner of police and deputy commissioner of police rank will be given Rs 15,000 per year as uniform allowance from this year. Meanwhile, all police personnel in the rank of inspector, SI, ASI, and constable, who have already received uniform kits will get uniform allowance from 2023-24.

Now onwards, for inspector rank, they will get Rs 10,000 annually, SI’s will get Rs 7,500, ASI’s will get Rs 6,000 and constables will get Rs 5,000. “Since uniform kits have already been given this year, we will be issuing uniform maintenance allowance just for this year. An inspector will get Rs 4,500, an SI will get Rs 4,000, ASI’s will get Rs 3,000, while constables will get Rs 3,000,” she said.