80 pc VDC members not
paid for 6 months
From M.L. Kak
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, Nov 1 — Over 80 per cent of the 1400 Village Defence Committee members have not received their paltry wages for the past six months due to severe cash crisis and on account of a wide gap between the committee sanctioned by the Centre and the number that function in reality.

Official sources revealed that against the sanctioned 800 Village Defence Committees (VDCs) more than 1400 VDCs were functioning in Doda, Udhampur and Rajouri districts. Though each VDC, comprising eight to 10 persons receive Rs 1500 per month, which comes to Rs 175 to Rs 190 per head the government has not released these wages for the past six months.

During his recent meeting with the Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, the Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Prof Chaman Lal Gupta, persuaded the Ministry to sanction at least 300 additional VDCs and increases the wages of each committee. It was on the suggestion of Mr Advani that the Union Home Secretary visited Jammu where he announced that 300 additional VDCs had been sanctioned. Not only this, he also disclosed that each VDC will be entitled to receive Rs 4500 per month and the Centre had sanctioned 3,000 automatic weapons and 1500 walkie-talkie sets for the committees.

The state government functionaries said that the entire expenses on the VDCs and the Special Police Officers (SPOs) had to be borne by the Centre. It was because of the delay in reimbursement of security-related expenses that the VDC members had to go without wages for the past six months.

They made it clear that the state government was under pressure to give verbal sanction for raising the number of VDCs in the militancy-infested areas to contain the activities of the militants. Elucidating it the government functionaries said that during the past over one year deployment of para-military forces and the troops had been "reduced" in the several belts of Doda and Udhampur districts which called for immediate security back-up which could be provided only through VDCs. They said that besides raising the number of VDCs the Centre should first of all give proper sanction to the committees added to the sanctioned number of the state government.

Government sources said that in case of Doda district 330 VDCs stand sanctioned. Against this there are 890 VDCs enrolled. "Since we have no funds even for the sanctioned VDCs where from will we get money for releasing wages for 560 VDC which had become functional on the verbal orders of the state authorities.

Majority of over 12,000 SPOs, on duty in the state, have not received their salary for the past three months. Each SPO gets Rs 1500 per month. Again the central government has agreed to sanction 5,000 additional posts of SPOs. The sanction is being given in view of the good job SPOs have done in recent months, especially in Doda district where a number of top insurgents were eliminated by them.

The problem with the SPOs is not different to that of VDC members. More than 100 per cent increase in the number of SPOs has been sanctioned on the basis of the verbal orders of the state authorities. For instance in Doda district 1833 SPOs are working as per the proper sanction of the central and the stage governments. Against this over 4700 SPOs are working in Doda district. Sources said that when the state had no funds to pay to SPOs whose posts are sanctioned by the Centre there was no possibility for releasing the wages for those SPOs whose posts are yet to receive sanction from the Centre.

Official sources said that the Union Home Ministry is still not satisfied with the state government's report on the utilisation of security related funds. In this connection they referred to reports indicating open misuse of SPOs by people who matter in the government. Even senior National Conference leaders who are neither legislators nor MPs have been provided with SPOs as part of security arrangements but the political leaders have used them as household servants. Some of the SPOs have been seen looking after farm and horticulture fields of the political leaders. Others have used them as cooks.

Household servants, drivers and farm labourers have been booked as SPOs which is a blatant misuse of their services and role. Experts are of the opinion that this lacunae plugged and VDC members and SPOs be given their wages on time and equipped with better weapons to meet fresh challenges from the militants.