Chennai: Difficulties continue in granting weekly leave to Tamil Nadu police personnel, with staff shortage cited as the key reason. Police sources allege that vacancies have crossed 10,000 after recruitment was deferred to next year.
A government order issued in 2021 during the previous DMK regime said weekly off would be provided for personnel from Grade-II constables up to sub-inspectors. While the system has been implemented in major cities such as Chennai, Tiruchirappalli, Coimbatore and Madurai, it has not taken full effect in many districts due to inadequate manpower.
The issue reached the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court last year through a petition filed by a police constable. During the hearing, the government reportedly told the court that the order could not be implemented because there were not enough police personnel.
The court observed that such practical hurdles should have been considered before issuing the order and noted that families of police personnel were also affected when weekly leave was not granted. It directed the government to implement the order fully, but police personnel say the problem persists even after a change in government.
According to police personnel, only about 65,000 staff from Grade-II constables to sub-inspectors are currently in service, and the postponement of fresh recruitment has increased workload. They claim weekly off has been stopped in several districts and that difficulties are now being reported even in cities including Chennai, Madurai and Coimbatore.
