Pay Hike For Home Guards Demanded In Assembly

The Telangana government in the Assembly was urged to take immediate steps to enhance the living standards of the State Home Guards by hiking their payscale and providing other facilities on par with the police constables.

Members from both the Treasury and Opposition benches made the fervent appeal to the State government during Question Hour in the Telangana Assembly on Friday while highlighting the "pathetic" conditions the Home Guards were living in despite performing their duties on par with the police constables.

TRS member Srinivas Goud expressed his anguish that the working and living conditions of Home Guards remained the same despite numerous representations made to successive governments. He said that the services of the Home Guards were being used in maintenance of law & order as well as Traffic during times of emergencies including natural calamities. They were discharging their duties on par with constables but still receive the same meagre salary. He also stressed the need to provide maternity leaves for female Home Guards.

BJP floor leader G Kishan Reddy, too, stressed the need for enhancing the salaries of Home Guards to Rs. 20,000 per month. He pointed out that they were not being given holidays or even paid for working on Sundays. He demanded bus passes and other benefits for the Guards on part with what the Police receive.

Replying to the members, Home Minister Nayini Narsimha Reddy said that the TRS Government was committed to provide better working and living conditions to the Home Guards. He recalled that the Home Guards were being paid Rs. 100 a day in 2009, and slowly increased year after year. The TRS government enhanced it to Rs. 400 a day from April 2015, he said. Besides, the government had also been providing them with free uniforms and other benefits being given to police constables.

The Home Minister further said that any Home Guard killed in terrorist attacks had been compensated by the State government with their kin being paid an ex-gratia of Rs. 30 lakhs.

If a Home Guard died while discharging duties, apart from the prescribed compensation, one member from his family would be provided a job. He also assured the members that the government would take all measures to see that the Home Guards were not being neglected, and would strive to better their living standards.