Govt plans to appoint 142 full-time protection officers

PUNE: The Women and Child Development (WCD) Commissionerate, Pune will appoint 142 additional full-time protection officers (POs) for each taluka in Maharashtra to deal with cases registered under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act.
There are 145 of the 216 POs working at the taluka level. The process of filling 71 vacant posts of POs was delayed over administrative reasons.
The state government had also created 34 posts of POs for providing reservation to Marathas and Muslims, but the appointments were on hold as the reservation issue is pending with the Supreme Court.
The WCD has decided to appoint additional 25 POs each in Pune and Amravati divisions, 26 in Nasik division, 35 in Aurangabad division and 31 in Nagpur division. The move aims to give speedy justice to victims of domestic violence.
WCD's deputy commissioner (administration) M K Shirsat said on Tuesday, "We have published advertisements and have started receiving applications online for the posts of 142 POs. The last date is July 27. We are filling the posts as per the order passed by the Bombay high court."
The HC has directed the state government to expedite the process of appointing POs on a public interest litigation filed by city-based lawyer Rajendra Anbhule.
M B Hajari, deputy secretary of WCD, Mantralaya in his affidavit filed before a division bench of the high court on May 5, 2015 said, "If the process of appointing 142 POs is completed, there will be full-time POs at the taluka level. We have sanctioned 358 posts of ‘multi-purpose employees' on a contractual basis for assisting the POs."
The affidavit states, "We have also created posts of district POs, legal advisers, data entry operators, full time POs, multipurpose employees and assistants each for the POs at taluka levels. The district POs and legal advisers are permanent government employees having offices at WCD in their respective districts. The POs appointed on a full time basis will operate from the child development project office at taluka levels."
Anbhule said, "The POs should be effectively sensitized and periodical awareness training should be given to them. There must be proper co-ordination between all stakeholders working for the implementation of the Protection to Women from Domestic Violence Act."
The POs should be confined to the functions under the Act. The practice of giving them other work should be discouraged. The salary and allowances given to them shall be according to the responsibility they are discharging so that they will effectively concentrate on their duties, he added.