In a move that is set to benefit more than 25,000 police personnel in Uttarakhand, the state government has okayed House Rent Allowance (HRA) for policemen, an official said on Friday.
Directives to this effect have been sent by the Director General of Police Anil Kumar Raturi to all district Superintendents of Police (SPs) and Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs).
The demand by policemen for HRA had been hanging fire for the last 17 years but successive governments did not take a decision on the matter.
According to the officials, the HRA would now come added with the salary of police personnel. Till now, policemen who lived in police camps or in police lines were not entitled to HRA.
It was given however to the policemen living on rend but only after they submitted a copy of the rent agreement and the night passes of the month. Inspector General of Police (Personnel) J.S. Martoliya said that the decision would cost the state exchequer Rs 15 crore per year.
The government will get back Rs 500 per annum as barrack maintenance fees and hence the actual burden on the state coffers would come around Rs 13 crore.
The HRA would also be given to the 1,000 new recruits into the police force of the hill state.
