25,000 UP police home guards lose jobs as govt unable to afford salary

Yogi-Adityanath government Tuesday ended the services of 25,000 home guards in the Uttar Pradesh police department. The regime has been under duress from the Supreme Court (SC) to pay the guards at par with police constables.

The state police headquarters in Prayagraj in an order said that 25,000 home guards will be relieved from their duties.

"The decision to end 25,000 Home Guard services was taken on August 28 this year in a meeting chaired by Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary," said an order issued by Additional Director General (ADG) B.P. Jogdand as seen by the IANS.

Also Read: UP to sack 25,000 home guards earning Rs 500 per day

At present, UP has over 90,000 home guards, but the state administration has slashed the number of days they are required to report to work from 25 to 15.

According to a state government spokesman, the administration took the decision owing to resource constraints since they had to be paid daily allowances at par with the UP police constables.

Also Read: Delhi Police recruitment: Salaries up to Rs 81,100, 7th Pay Commission benefits and more

The guards were previously paid a daily allowance of nearly Rs 500, which was supposed to be increased to Rs 672 on the SC's orders.

This reportedly has added to UP police's financial constraints. Home guards are paid basis the number of days they report to duty.

The home guards are usually stationed for traffic management in UP.

Also Read: 5.28 lakh job vacancies in police forces; nearly 1.29 lakh in UP