Senior cops refuse to forgo 'orderly' luxury

BANGALORE: They are trained in crimedetection, handling law and order situations and traffic management but end upby cutting vegetables, doing dishes, washing and gardening in senior officers'homes. Efforts to abolish this system, a legacy of British Raj's `koi hai,'glory days have come to naught in 21st century Karnataka's policeforce.And it costs the exchequer a packet. If one goes by policemanual's sanctioned posts (3,000), the cost is a whopping Rs 4.5 crore monthly.But police department's records show only 1,000 constables posted as orderlies.Even that works out to Rs 1.5 crore spent per month on providing domestic staffto police officials.These orderlies are recruited along with otherpolice personnel and undergo the same training. After probation, orderlies aremoved to the houses of senior police officers. The government pays them salaryand maintenance on par with other police constables, though their jobs differvastly.It's not just constables, but also head constables who areposted as orderlies to the houses of senior police officials. However, this isapart from the car drivers and escort personnel provided to the senior policeofficers.REFORM EFFORTS STONEWALLEDA recent effort to reform police force by doing away with orderlies and publishing assets and liabilities of police on website faced stiff resistance from senior IPS officers and was dropped. The idea was mooted by DG&IGP Ajai Kumar Singh, who placed it before the senior officers. Admitting that he had to drop the idea following resistance from officers, he told TOI: "Before forming committee to implement the proposals, we wanted to elicit opinion of senior police officers. About publishing assets and liabilities on the website, most of the officers pointed out that there were no rules for that. The Lokayukta made a similar such proposal to IAS officers which too was shelved.''When it came todoing away with orderlies, the problem was that the Karnataka Police Manualitself has a provision for that. "In the first place, we have to make amendmentsto the manual. Secondly, most of the police officers wanted to know what wouldbe the alternative for orderlies. It may take some more time before every onestarts accepting the idea," he added.