‘Substantial’ pay hike in store for SPOs

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, September 25

Amid a series of attacks on special police officers (SPOs), the state administration said on Tuesday that a “substantial jump” in their salaries would be announced in the next few days.

Coming ahead of the municipal and panchayat elections beginning from October 8, the step will be a major boost for the SPOs, who have been facing the brunt of the militant violence in the Kashmir, especially in south Kashmir, in the past few weeks.

Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, Chief Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam said, “their (SPOs) salaries will get a substantial hike in the next few days.”

The major issue before the government ahead of the elections has been the increased militant violence in south Kashmir where police personnel have been targeted. Among the 37 policemen killed this year, at least eight were SPOs.

Referring to the killings, the Chief Secretary said the stepped up militant violence was “restricted only to certain areas of south Kashmir” and the killing of SPOs was “negligible as compared to their strength of over 30,000” in the state.

An SPO gets a monthly salary of Rs 6,000, which was hiked from the previous emoluments of Rs 3,000. Nearly 500 SPOs have been killed in anti-militancy operations during the past decade.