MHA seeks report from CAPF on 100-day leave plan for jawans

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 20

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has asked the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), including the CRPF, BSF, ITBP and SSB, to apprise it of the progress on creating an in-house software to implement Home Minister Amit Shah’s proposal to ensure troops spend at least 100 days a year with their families.

The idea was first mooted by the Home Minister in 2019 with an aim to provide rest, recuperation and quality family time to the forces’ personnel deployed in some of the harshest locations and difficult climatic conditions across the country. The purpose of such a move was to reduce stress and enhance the happiness quotient of the troopers, which will effectively reduce the cases of suicides and fratricidal killings.

Officials in the ministry said the plan was yet to be made “fully operational” and, hence, the MHA recently sent a communication to these forces to update it about the development of software managing transfers and postings of the personnel.

They said as per the plan, the software was going to be the precursor to “at least 100 days with the family per year” proposal. A considerable time has elapsed since the Home Minister gave the direction and the proposal is yet to see the light of day.

“It is envisaged that the digitisation of posting and transfer processes for soft, hard and very hard locations will eliminate personal bias and allow a free-and-fair system leading to easy rotation of the troops,” a senior MHA official said.

The over 10-lakh personnel strong paramilitary or the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) include the CRPF, BSF, ITBP, CISF and SSB apart from the Assam Rifles which draws its officer strength from the Army. Officials in the MHA said while the CISF, ITBP and the SSB have developed their respective software, the CRPF, BSF and the Assam Rifles are still in the process.

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