Naveen okays direct recruitment of DSPs.

Pioneer News Service | Bhubaneswa

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik seems to be in a give away mood. So, he has not only allowed to go for direct recruit of Deputy Superintendents of Police (DSPs) but also made provisions for early promotion of the Junior Police Officers. Now, the youth of the State can aspire to become Indian Police Service (IPS) officers once they get into the cadre of directly recruited DSPs.
According to sources, Patnaik has cleared the file pending with him for quite some time. Direct recruitment of DSPs was kept in abeyance since 1976 in the State. With the acute shortage of IPS officers and large scale vacancies in the cadre, it was just impossible for the DGP to run the show. So, on taking over as DGP on November 1, 2007, Gopal Chandra Nanda sent the proposal for direct recruitment of DSPs along with creation of more posts in the DSP cadre.
Sources said that more than 100 posts of DSPs have been created to take care of the new requirement and promotional aspects of the Sub-Inspectors and Inspectors.
The Orissa Police Service Association (OPSA) was earlier opposing the move of direct recruitment of DSPs. They were of the view that once the direct recruitment takes place, the promotional prospects of the Sub-Inspectors and Inspectors would be seriously affected. But DGP Nanda promised them that there would be no barrier for their promotion after such direct recruitment.

The proposal was sent to the Department of Home, and its Secretary Tarun Kanti Mishra cleared it within no time. Chief Secretary Ajit Kumar Tripathy also favoured the idea. The Chief Minister was also positive over the issue, but due to his preoccupation he took some more time to act on it. However, now with the clearance of the proposal, educated youth, who were agitating over the issue for quite a long time, can heave a sigh of relief.There is an acute shortage of IPS officers and OPS officers in the State. Promotional posts are also not being filled up as it is taking several years for officers to get promoted to the Additional SP rank. Now with more posts in hand, Circle Inspectors can aspire to become DSPs soon, said a top cop.
The Government is now expected to be in a better position to recruit and send young DSPs to the Maoist zones, where the police administration is in need of young blood to fight the Leftwing extremists, he said.