Not paid since January, 129 PCR van drivers now left jobless

NOIDA: An “abrupt” decision by the district police not to employ contractual drivers for PCR vans has left 129 of them jobless, with more than two months left for the deal under which they had been hired to get over.
Police said the decision was the fallout of recent protests by contractual drivers of PCR vans who had been claiming that they had not been paid their salary for around six months. Not only drivers, the move has left police stations, too, in a tricky situation, with few constables coming forward to take the wheel of these PCR vans.
Observers pointed out that the lack of drivers for PCR vans would increase response time of cops to attend to emergency calls. This assumes all the more significance as recent data sourced from the district police has shown that street crime, such as vehicle theft, robbery and chain snatching, has seen a substantial increase in the first six months of this year, as compared to the corresponding period last year.
On Monday, Noida police chief Vaibhav Krishna said two constables from each police station would now take turns to drive these PCR vans. The 129 contractual drivers of PCR vans have been on a protest, claiming that they had not been getting salary since January. Police have cited shortage of funds from the Noida Authority, while the agency has said they had been barred by the comptroller and auditor general.
“We have written to the UP police headquarters on the issue. The Authority had stopped dispersal of their salary for the past few months, which is why there is a problem. Driver-constables will now be deployed for these PCR vans. There is no need to pay them extra,” Krishna said.
Across the district, there are 10 police stations to which 43 PCR vans are attached to attend to emergency calls and for patrolling.
The contractual drivers termed the decision an instance of “police high-handedness”. Anil Negi, supervisor for the 129 drivers, said that a private agency — Security Solutions and Manpower Services — had signed an two-year deal with UP police on August 28, 2017, to provide drivers for PCR vans on a monthly salary of around Rs 9,000.
“The agreement was to end on August 31 this year, there are more than two months left. We were not consulted before this decision, but were simply told that we need to come to work from tomorrow (Tuesday). If they had to terminate the contract, they should at least clear our dues,” he said. “It is a legal agreement with police. Is the contractor only holding the liability?”
The lack of assignment now means that these drivers, most of whom have migrated to Noida in search of a better livelihood, have to look for fresh jobs. But it’s not only the drivers who are at a loss, but police stations also have no clue how to mitigate the crisis. As of now, two driver-constables in each police station are attached to a mobile vehicle and the one used by senior officers.
“It will be extremely difficult to deploy the existing driver-constables for these PCR vans. The PCR drivers worked in three shifts,” an officer said.