Apex scale of Rs 80,000 cleared for BSF, NIA DGs

NEW DELHI: The apex pay scale of Rs 80,000 was today granted by the government to two top IPS officers in charge of border security and terrorist investigations, thereby removing an anomaly in their salaries.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued orders allowing the top pay package to BSF Director General DK Pathak and National Investigation Agency ( NIA) DG Sharad Kumar, both 1979-batch officers of the Indian Police Service.

While Border Security Force (BSF) is the country's largest border guarding force, NIA is mandated to probe national terror and terrorist financing cases.

As reported earlier, the Union Home Ministry was moved in this regard by about half-a-dozen IPS officers, who head important agencies in the domain of border security, intelligence and investigation, claiming "anomalies" in their salary packages which, they complained, lowered their dignity and morale.

After today's order, two other Directors General of paramilitary forces -- CISF (1980-batch, Surender Singh) and SSB (1980-batch, BD Sharma) -- are left to be accorded the top pay package.

Till now, both the BSF and NIA chiefs were bracketed in the second-from-top pay scale of Rs 75,500-Rs 80,000 despite rules stating that, as top police officers, they are entitled to the apex pay scale. The highest salary is of Rs 80,000 fixed pay scale.

Recently, 1978-batch Bihar cadre officer RR Verma was granted the same scale after his appointment as the DG of the Railway Protection Force (RPF).

Verma is the senior-most serving IPS officer in the country and was heading the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) before he was posted to RPF.

Special Director in the Intelligence Bureau, Rajiv Jain (1980-batch), too, is expected to get the same scale soon, given his seniority.