KATHMANDU, July 11: The State Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives has agreed to the proposal of a Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Nepal Police leading the provincial police force. The parliamentary panel has approved the proposal made by the bill related to the adjustment of police in the provincial services on Wednesday.
The government had proposed a six-member committee under the home secretary to recommend the organizational structure of the provincial police and rank of the police heading the provincial police force.
"Lawmakers in the committee have agreed on assigning a DIG of the Nepal Police as chief of the provincial police. The police adjustment bill will be finalized by the committee after settling a few other issues,” said chairperson of the committee Shashi Shrestha.
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The committee has been mulling on the name of the provincial police chief and the insignia, said SAC member Nawaraj Silwal, who is a former DIG himself.
“The chief of the provincial police will work as the DIG again if he/she is transferred to the federal service,” he said.
Most of the lawmakers were for appointing a DIG as the provincial police chief having equal hierarchy to the joint secretaries in the civil services, who have been working as the principal secretary in the provinces.
The committee is yet to decide whether to offer promotion on rank or position to the police personnel choosing adjustment at the provincial police force. The government has offered a two-grade increment in salaries to those choosing the provincial service. Most of the lawmakers have proposed promotion of one rank to the police personnel choosing the provincial service.
SAC is also mulling whether to allow provinces to appoint Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) and Superintendent of Police (SP) from the provincial police force after certain years. The government has proposed recruitment of up to DSP by the provinces in the provincial police force and deploying other senior police officers from the federal police force.
Home Ministry had registered the bill on police adjustment at the House of Representatives in March. The State Affairs Committee had received the bill in the last week of May for consideration.
The provincial governments have been pressing the federal government for paving way to recruit provincial police after endorsing the police adjustment bill.
The bill has proposed allowing the provinces to fill vacancies in the provincial police after the adjustment and deployment of Nepal Police to the provinces through the adjustment.
