Govt grants special allowance to select VIP security personnel from CAPFs

The Centre has issued an order that will grant a special pay allowance to VIP security commandos of CAPFs who provide armed protection to a handful of the important persons who are guarded under the top two categories of Z plus (ASL) and Z plus.

The personnel who secure the VIPs in the lower VIP security cover categorisations under the Union government security protocol of Z, Y+, Y and X will not get the allowance, as per officials.

An order issued by the department of expenditure under the Union Finance Ministry on Thursday said it has "examined the proposal of MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs) for granting special security allowance (SSA) @ 20 per cent of the basic pay to CAPF personnel engaged in VIP security duties."  The order accessed by PTI added that the SSA will be "allowed only to CAPF personnel who are engaged in VIP security duties for Z+ and Z+(ASL) category protectees wherein SPG and NSG are replaced by CAPF".

Two CAPFs -- CRPF and CISF -- few years back had sought a special allowance for the commandos of these units on the lines of the Special Protection Group (SPG), who get additional money at the rate of 55 per cent of their basic pay, and the National Security Guard (NSG) who get 40 per cent more money over and above their regular pay for rendering this highly-skilled job.

Out of the about 350 VIPs secured by the VIP security wings of the two forces only about 35 are under the two top categories.

The VIPs under the top two covers include Union Home Minister Amit Shah, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, her two children --? Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and party MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra -- and a host of other ministers like Nitin Gadkari, Kiren Rijiju and business persons like Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani.

As per the latest order, VIP security personnel guarding only these two top category of protectees benefit from the order at present and not others who guard the lower category of dignitaries, a senior officer of the VIP security wing of one of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) said.

A second officer said the Home Ministry had sought a uniform special allowance for the VIP security wing personnel of the CRPF and the CISF.

"The order will not benefit all the personnel of the CAPF VIP security wings. It will also be difficult to say which personnel benefit from the special pay as these duties are rotational," he said.

The CRPF provides a Z plus (ASL) protection to Shah and the Gandhi family while the CISF undertakes the same protocol for RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.

ASL stands for advance security liaison where security personnel conduct early reconnaissance of the place to be visited by their VIP in coordination with the local police and intelligence units. The SPG that guards the prime minister also carries out the ASL protocol.

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is currently providing armed commandos to around 220 high and low-risk VIPs.

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) too grants the same category of cover to close to 140 such dignitaries under its umbrella.

There are nine Z plus category protection VIPs with the NSG but they are yet to be handed over to the CRPF as per the plan, the second officer said.

As many as 15,000 CRPF and CISF personnel in total are deployed for these tasks apart from a few from the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) who also render VIP security duties.