The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has finalized a proposal to substantially raise the remuneration and benefits of approximately 32,000 Special Police Officers (SPOs) serving across Jammu and Kashmir. The draft has been forwarded to the Union Ministry of Finance for formal budgetary clearance, with an official government order expected in the near future.
The initiative follows sustained advocacy from both the Jammu and Kashmir Police leadership and the Union Territory administration. Officials argued that the existing compensation did not reflect the critical role SPOs play in counter-insurgency efforts, frontline security, and routine policing—often in high-risk, remote, and mountainous terrain where personnel face serious injury or loss of life.
Key Highlights of the Proposed Revision:
Substantial Pay Raise: Under the current pay scale, SPOs earn between ₹6,000 and ₹18,000 per month based on their years of service. The new framework will replace these figures with a significantly higher base pay.
Special Allowances: In addition to revised base wages, the ministry plans to introduce hardship and duty-related allowances to enhance overall take-home earnings.
Broader Welfare Measures: The revision builds upon earlier administrative reforms, which included welfare perks and job quotas reserving regular police posts for SPOs.
A formal declaration regarding the revision could arrive either directly from New Delhi upon finance clearance or during Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s upcoming visit to Jammu for the opening of the Mahanpur high-security prison in Kathua district.
The financial burden of the increase will be absorbed directly by the Centre, following the full integration of Jammu and Kashmir Police expenditures into the MHA’s budgetary grants. For the 2026–27 fiscal year, J&K Police funding was raised to ₹9,925.50 crore, up from ₹9,097 crore in the previous year’s revised estimates
