MP News: Proposal To Form Police Recruitment Board In State Forwarded To General Administration Department

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Four months after Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav announced the move, the state home department has forwarded a proposal prepared by the police headquarters for the formation of a ‘police recruitment board’ to the general administration department (GAD). 

In his August 15 speech this year, the chief minister had announced the formation of a police recruitment board. The state police were already working on a proposal which was later forwarded to the home department after the CM’s announcement.

Officials said that the GAD may take suggestions from the state law and finance department. It will finally be put before a cabinet meeting for discussion. 

Unlike southern states, Madhya Pradesh is far behind in setting up a police recruitment board. Even Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh took a leaf out of the southern states’ book and have formed police recruitment boards.

Recruitment boards in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have been functional for the past several decades. Lakhs of police personnel in these states have been recruited through such boards. The draft proposal prepared by the state police is also similar to the boards of these states.

Building for police recruitment board to be ready by July next year

The police headquarters had started preparations for setting up a police recruitment board around a year before the CM made the announcement. A building for the board is under construction in the Shyamla Hills area and is being constructed by the police housing corporation. It will be completed by July next year and is expected to cost around Rs 19.8 crore, officials said. The total constructed area of the building is more than 6748 square metre.

Recruitment rules kept changing in the state

In 2012, the then Shivraj Singh Chauhan government decided to tweak the existing rules for recruitment of police constables and sub- inspectors in the state. Before 2012, a committee was formed in every district under the recruitment and selection branch of the police headquarters. The committee first conducted a physical test. In the second round, 10%  of the qualifying candidates were selected and had to appear for a written examination.

Those selected candidates were then called for an interview. There were separate committees to conduct the examinations and the interview round as well. Later, the government gave the responsibility for conducting the written examination to Vyapam.