§ Sir C. YATEasked the Secretary of State for India what is the pay per mensem of a police constable in the various provinces of India; whether that pay is considered sufficient by the Governments concerned to maintain a loyal and contended police service; what is the pay of the village watchmen in the different provinces; and whether any steps have been taken of late years to improve their position?
§ Mr. MONTAGUThe monthly pay of police constables varies in the different provinces between extreme limits of Rs. 13 and Rs. 24, and account has in addition to be taken of a number of allowances of different kinds. I shall be glad to send the hon. and gallant Member a statement compiled from the most recent information with the Government of India. The rates were recently revised in almost every province with reference to present-day conditions and in accordance with recommendations from local Governments for raising pay to the level required to maintain the police in an efficient and contented condition. As regards village watchmen, they are paid by different authorities in the several parts of India. In some, for instance—Madras and the United Provinces—they are paid by the Government. In Madras last year there were over 35,400 of them, and they cost Rs. 16,82,000, which indicates a pay of not more than Rs. 4 a month. In the United Provinces there are nearly 88,000. They receive only Rs. 3 a month, but even so they cost 32 lakhs a year. In that province the numbers are to be reduced and small improvements in pay are being made at an additional cost of 3 lakhs a year. In other provinces, for instance—Bengal and Bihar—village watchmen are paid from a special cess levied for the express purpose by local bodies, and any increase in their pay involves an addition to the assessments made by these bodies. Such an addition is necessarily unpopular, and there is a provision in the law limiting the rates of pay to a maximum of Rs. 6 a month. But both these Governments have the matter under consideration.