Agartala, Aug. 13: The Tripura government has demanded reimbursement of the entire cost towards payment of salaries and allowances of the state’s 4,011 special police officers (SPOs) since 2001.

Having failed to impress upon the Union home ministry the need to reimburse the costs through a series of letters, the Left Front government directed the state’s three MPs to meet in deputation with Union home minister P. Chidambaram and explain the situation to him.

Accordingly, the state’s two Lok Sabha MPs — Khagen Das and Bajuban Reang — and lone Rajya Sabha MP Jharna Baidya met Chidambaram and submitted a memorandum containing the demand for reimbursement of the cost.

Quoting the contents of the memorandum submitted yesterday, official sources in the home department here said at the height of insurgency in Tripura in 2001, altogether 2,000 SPOs were recruited on a monthly fixed salary of Rs 2,000 to fight insurgents and their collaborators.

“The number of SPOs rose to 4,011 through phased recruitment over the past 10 years and their monthly salary now is Rs 3,500 per head but the Union home ministry bears the salary liability of only Rs 500 per head for only 1,400 SPOs,” a source said. The financial burden for the state government was quite high on this head as the SPOs have to be provided with police uniforms and kits. Sources said the SPOs have done a “good job” in curbing insurgency in Tripura by working in tandem with regular police personnel and paramilitary forces.

The joint secretary in the state home department, J.K. Sinha, said the Union home ministry’s role in bearing the cost of salaries and allowances of the SPOs was discriminatory.

“In the troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir there are altogether 31,800 SPOs working on a fixed salary of Rs 3,000 per month and the entire cost of salary is being borne by the Union home ministry. Similarly, in Jharkhand, there are 3,200 SPOs on a fixed monthly salary of Rs 3,000 and the cost is being borne by the Union home ministry. But in Tripura, the Centre reimburses only Rs 500 towards salary per head per month for only 1,400 SPOs though the actual strength of the force is 4,011 and they are drawing monthly salary of Rs 3,500.”

Quoting from the memorandum, Sinha said SPOs in Tripura were drawing higher salaries and facilities than their counterparts in Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand but because of a severe resource crunch the state government was finding it increasingly difficult to meet this liability.

Sinha said there was resentment among the SPOs in Tripura despite being promised better pay and facilities. They had also threatened to take the path of agitation. He also hinted that chief minister Manik Sarkar would take up the issue with Chidambaram unless the matter was settled at the earliest.