The State government will soon set up a super-specialty hospital exclusively for police personnel and their family members, Home Minister K.J. George has said.
He was speaking after the inauguration of a police canteen at the City Armed Reserve grounds here on Friday.
Mr. George said the government was committed to extending all possible help to the Police Department. It was also considering a proposal to open a medical college exclusively for the children of police personnel, he said. “I have requested the Chief Minister to consider this seriously,” he said.
“We cannot imagine a society without policemen who work hard to maintain law and order. Considering their services, the government has doubled their holiday wage to Rs. 200,” he said. The government was considering a proposal to further increase the holiday wage. The Home Department had been directed to compulsorily provide weekly offs to the staff to help them spend time with their family, he said.
The government was aware of the shortage of staff in the department and was committed to filling the vacancies, the Minister said. As many as 8,500 posts had been sanctioned and recruitment was under way, he said.
The police canteens set up in all district headquarters will provide foodgrains and other goods at subsidised rates to police personnel (20 per cent cheaper than the market rate). To minimise the rate further, he said the Chief Minister was considering a proposal to remove Value Added Tax (VAT) on groceries and food items.
