By IANS,
Agartala : As part of its series of pre-poll sops, the Left Front government in Tripura Thursday announced pension for the home guards who help policemen maintain law and order, a minister said here Thursday.
The crucial assembly polls in the Left-ruled Tripura are scheduled in February next year.
“The Home Guard personnel in Tripura from now onwards will get pension of Rs.750 per month after their retirement,” state Power and Transport Minister Manik Dey told reporters after a cabinet meeting.
“We do not know whether any state government has been providing pension to the Home Guard personnel,” he added.
Those home guard personnel who complete 20 years of service would be eligible to get the pension.
There are 1,166 home guard personnel in Tripura rendering duties almost identical to those performed by policemen. They direct traffic, help maintain law and order, and work with VIPs, besides supporting the functioning of state establishments.
However, the home guard personnel do not receive some of the benefits that policemen get.
The Tripura government recently raised the retirement age of home guard personnel from 58 to 60 years, on par with policemen.