SP govt withdraws Home Guards from Mayawati's projects

The newly-installed Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh has withdrawn with immediate effect nearly 450 Home Guards deployed in the security of various dream projects of former chief minister Mayawati.

"The Home Guards had been deployed at these memorials, statues and parks in addition to the Suraksha Vahini raised specially for the security of these projects by the earlier government and they have been withdrawn," said Minister for Home Guards and Vocational Education Brahma Shankar Tripathi.

These Home Guards would now be used as per the requirement for other duties, the minister said, adding that the Home Guards were posted at Mayawati's dream projects since the past three years.

"They got a force specially raised for the security of memorials but did not relieve Home Guards from there," the minister said, adding that it was causing an unnecessary burden on the exchequer.

The sanctioned strength of Home Guards in the state is around 1.17 lakhs and they are used on duties like policing, traffic duty, election duty as per the requirement and are paid an honorarium of Rs 160 per day.

During the previous government, 75 Home Guards had been deployed at the official residence of the chief minister, 36 were deployed with the then minister of the department and 50 with his minister of state and some 39 of them at the fifth floor of the secretariat, which has the chief minister's office, he said.

Tripathi said that serious efforts were going on to improve the working conditions and regularise active and young Home Guards.

To a question, the minister said that complaints of anomalies in the recruitment during the earlier government have been taken seriously and warned that all those responsible for it would be dealt with sternly.