ITBP cooks, sweepers, others to be promoted for first time after govt approves long-awaited restructuring

Cooks, water carriers, barbers, sweepers and washermen - personnel at the lowest pedestal of the hierarchy in the India-China LAC guarding force ITBP - will be promoted for the first time in their careers after the Union government approved a much-awaited cadre review for this arm of its constabulary.

Official sources told PTI on Tuesday that the Union finance ministry last week approved the first-ever cadre review proposal for the group 'C' Tradesmen cadre of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), with the creation of 984 new head constable posts for these ranks by re-calibrating the existing strength.

There are eight tradesmen cadre categories in the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) - tailor, cobbler, gardener, cook, water carrier, barber, washerman and sweeper (safaikarmi).

The total number of such tradesmen was 7,097 in the about 90,000 personnel strong force and their strength will remain the same after this cadre restructuring.

The final proposal that has been approved by the government has abolished some existing posts and used them to create promotion posts in the rank of head constable for five cadres, a senior officer said.

The tradesmen, as a Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) officer stressed, are the "backbone of any operational or administrative unit of the CAPFs including the ITBP as they ensure that the combat troops are battle or task ready all the time and in any security theatre".

They move and remain with the combat units at both forward and rear locations. These personnel are also provided basic weapon and combat training, the CAPF officer said.

This cadre restructuring proposal was sent to the finance ministry by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in 2018 after the ITBP prepared it by taking into account the future challenges before the force that is primarily tasked to guard the 3,488 km-long India-China Line of Actual Control (LAC) apart from rendering a variety of duties in the internal security domain.

According to the latest sanction, a total of 276 news head constable posts have been created for the personnel who work in the ITBP as cooks, 206 for water carriers, 125 for barbers, 139 for washermen and 238 for constable sweepers.

The personnel of these five trade ranks joined as constables and retired in the same post after serving the force and the country for about 35-40 years.

The creation of the new post of head constable will ensure that they will have at least one promotion and enhanced salary which will act as a big morale booster for these personnel, a senior CAPF officer said.

The posts of gardener and cobbler already had a promotion post of head constable while a constable recruited in the tailor cadre had promotion avenues to the higher ranks of head constable, sub-inspector and inspector, he said.

The latest order has also created 71 new posts of assistant sub-inspector (ASI) for the tailor cadre personnel, the officer said.

The ASI rank is one above the head constable rank and below the sub inspector.