Guwahati, July 16: There is growing discontentment among Assam Police Service (APS) officers over non-review of service rules which is leading to "stagnation" in promotions.

A member of the APS Officers' Association said the services are governed by the Assam Police Service Rules, 1966, which has not been reviewed or amended even once in the past 51 years.

"The service rules need to be reviewed systematically and progressively. It is noteworthy that between 1960 and 2015, the Assam Civil Service Rules were reviewed and amended seven times," he said.

"The non-review of the service rules vis-à-vis cadre management of APS has led to career stagnation. The lack of time-bound promotion has become one of the causes of discontentment among the APS officers," he said.

"Some officers are still in the rank of additional superintendent of police or second-in-command even after completion of 20 years of service. It means in 20 years of service, these officers have got only one promotion, from deputy superintendent of police to additional superintendent, owing to poor cadre management," he said.

According to him, unlike in other states like Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, the annual cadre review is not carried out in case of APS officers, which leads to stagnation in promotion.

The objective of the cadre review exercise is to ensure the smooth functioning of the service and keep up the morale of its members.

The association took up the issue with chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who also holds the home portfolio, when its delegation called on him last Friday.

The delegation urged the chief minister to review and amend the APS rules in the same way it was done in case of ACS rules.

They also sought "premier service" status for the APS and pay parity with civil service officers.

He said Sonowal gave them a patient hearing and assured that he would look into their demands.

According to the association, the process of nomination of APS officers to the All India Service/Indian Police Service (IPS) is not being done regularly owing to which many deserving officers were being deprived of the opportunity at an appropriate time.

The association also wants 100 per cent cashless medical insurance benefits for all police personnel in the state.

"APS officers render service under very adverse and hazardous conditions apart from long duty hours. In order to boost the morale of the APS officers, we have urged the state government to give a special duty allowance per month at the rate of at least 30 per cent of the basic pay along the lines of the special duty allowance given to IPS officers posted in Assam," the member said.