PANAJI
In what will be music to the ears of police personnel, the Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar announced that the State government will implement the Modified Assured Career Progression (MACP) that guarantees the police that they will either be promoted every ten years or given a salary grade pay in lieu of it.
At a meeting with various heads of departments held over the weekend, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has asked departments to get cracking on the issue in a bid to complete the examination and clearance of all cases within the next six months.
The MACP which took the place of the earlier ACP after the enforcement of the Sixth Pay Commission guidelines ensures promotion every ten years if the police official has not been promoted, subject to service record checks.
However, the Goa Police service records are believed to be in tatters and the administration has not implemented the MACP for its officials for the last several years with no police officials being given MACP benefits since 2008.
It is believed that around 1200 policemen will be eligible for benefits under the MACP of the total of around 6,500 strong police force in the state including reserves. The figure also includes policemen who have retired and who would now be eligible for arrears as well as increases in their pension as their retiring salary would have to now be recalculated.
A list of the eligible policemen has been sent to the finance department with the department currently vetting the proposal.
It is expected that given the number of police personnel involved, the burden on the State exchequer could run into hundreds of crores of rupees.
Complicating the fact is the lack of accurate records by the Goa Police Administration which has ensured that even those who might be otherwise ineligible for the MACP on account of a poor service record may stand to benefit.
Earlier in October this year, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar held a meeting with all heads of departments and with regard to efficiency, the Chief Minister had mandated that promotions should not be held back and that there should be no adhoc promotions by the end of this calendar year. The Chief Minister called for monitoring to ensure that posts like that of doctors and teachers post do not lapse with a review every five years.
