Home Guards thank Chandrababu Naidu for hiking honorarium

Vijayawada: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu was felicitated by Andhra Pradesh home guards at a programme organised at Indira Gandhi Municipal Stadium here on Monday for increasing their honorarium from Rs 12,000 to Rs 18,000 per month.

Addressing the gathering, the Chief Minister said that the Home Guard Act was designed in 1940. He said that the home guards render their duty equally with the police during natural disasters, peace-keeping, traffic duties, criminal investigations and others.

The Chief Minister said that even 70 years after Home Guards Act came into force, they did not get desired benefits from the previous governments.

The Chief Minister advised the police to develop community policing and ensure  people's participation in maintaining law and order in the state. He said students should be involved in traffic maintenance and road safety campaign to bring awareness among people on road safety rules.

The Chief Minister said that TDP government had enhanced daily honorarium of home guards from Rs 400 to Rs 600. Now the home guards get a monthly honorarium of Rs 18,000. He said that through NTR Trust everyone will get a maximum of Rs 2.5 lakh for medical treatment. 

The Chief Minister said that the funeral expenses were enhanced from Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000. For natural death or accidental death of home guards, the family of the deceased would get Rs 5 lakh, he said.

Noting that home guards were playing a key role in policing, the Chief Minister said they should win the confidence of people by adopting people-friendly policing.

The Chief Minister announced that there would be two-day paid leave to all the home guards every month. He said that there are about 15,000 home guards in the state and in constable recruitment eight per cent quota will be implemented for them. He also announced that women home guards would be sanctioned three-month maternity leave.

Home minister N Chinarajappa, ministers Devineni Uma Maheswara Rao, Kollu Ravindra, DGP R P Thakur, Home Guards Welfare Association leaders S Govind, AY Prasad, Revenue Association JAC leader Bopparaju Venkateswaralu, district collector Lakshmikantam, Vijayawada MP Kesineni Srinivas, city MLAs and others were present.