West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday handed over appointment letters to 11,000 candidates in the first major police recruitment drive under the BJP government and announced plans to fill another 13,000 posts in the coming months. He said 4,000 personnel would be recruited into the Kolkata Police by December, while the West Bengal Police Recruitment Board would issue a notification in November for 9,000 additional vacancies.
Addressing a programme at Netaji Indoor Stadium, Adhikari said his government had resolved the legal and administrative issues that had delayed recruitment under the previous Trinamool Congress administration. He also announced the recruitment of 650 police clerks through the Public Service Commission and expressed confidence that West Bengal would surpass Uttar Pradesh in the number of police personnel within two years.
๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ฏ๐น๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ด๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐
Crediting the change of government for the resumption of recruitment, Adhikari alleged that disputes over Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservations and prolonged litigation had prevented thousands of candidates from receiving appointments.
"I do not want applause, nor do I want credit. I only want to say that this recruitment would not have happened if the government had not changed. The previous government had kept recruitment stalled over the OBC issue," he said.
Adhikari maintained that the earlier confrontation between the state government and the judiciary had obstructed the recruitment process. He said the BJP administration convened a session of the Assembly to resolve the OBC-related deadlock and addressed the litigation initiated by the previous government in the Supreme Court against a High Court division bench ruling.
"The tussle between the court and the government had held up the process. We convened a session of the Assembly and resolved the OBC deadlock," he said, adding that swift administrative intervention had made the appointments possible.
๐ ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐-๐ฏ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ต๐ถ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ
Congratulating the newly appointed personnel, the chief minister urged them to maintain integrity, resist corruption and discharge their responsibilities with professionalism. He said the government was committed to conducting recruitment strictly according to established procedures, without political interference or irregularities.
"Whether it is the oral examination or the physical test, there will not be the slightest irregularity. Recruitment will take place according to the rules. Have faith in the state government," Adhikari said.
He asserted that merit would remain the sole criterion for government recruitment and promised that vacancies would be filled through regular annual recruitment drives.
The chief minister said the results for 4,000 Kolkata Police vacancies would be declared by December. He added that 300 sub-inspectors had already been selected for the Kolkata Police and that a fresh recruitment process for the state police would begin in January.
๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฐ ๐๐ผ๐น๐๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐๐๐๐ฒ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ
Adhikari criticised the previous Trinamool Congress government for allegedly depending excessively on civic volunteers to manage police stations and perform duties that required professionally trained personnel. However, he clarified that his administration was not opposed to civic volunteers and recognised their contribution.
"I am not blaming the civic volunteers. We increased their remuneration by Rs 2,000 before Durga Puja. Training is necessary to maintain discipline. Civic volunteers were not subjected to even the minimum examination," he said.
The chief minister stressed that policing required trained constables capable of performing law-enforcement duties with discipline and accountability. He said expanding the regular police force would help strengthen the state's policing infrastructure and reduce dependence on personnel without formal recruitment examinations.
Reiterating his ambitious recruitment target, Adhikari said, "Within two years, West Bengal will surpass Uttar Pradesh in the number of police personnel."
๐๐ ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐ฏ๐ด%
The chief minister also announced measures concerning the salaries and allowances of state government employees, including a substantial increase in dearness allowance (DA).
He said the government had announced a 20 percentage point increase in DA, taking the total rate to 38% when combined with the earlier 18%.
"A 20 per cent DA hike has been announced. The difference between the DA paid by the Centre and the state was substantial. We are trying to bridge that gap. The earlier 18 per cent and the latest 20 per cent together mean that everyone will receive DA at the rate of 38 per cent in October," he said.
Adhikari announced that the October salary advance, along with DA calculated at 38%, would be credited to employees' bank accounts by October 15, ahead of Durga Puja.
He said the government was working to narrow the difference between the dearness allowance received by state government employees and their counterparts in the Central government.
The chief minister also referred to the implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission while outlining his administration's approach to employee welfare and remuneration.
๐๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ผ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ
Turning to welfare measures for police personnel, Adhikari said his government had increased the monthly ration allowance from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000 and intended to enhance it further in the next state budget.
He maintained that improving service conditions, providing adequate training and ensuring regular recruitment were essential to strengthening the police force.
The announcements formed part of the state government's broader plans to expand police staffing, clear pending recruitment processes and improve benefits for serving personnel. Adhikari reiterated that future appointments would be made transparently and according to the rules, assuring candidates that recruitment opportunities would be available every year.