New Delhi: Apprehension continues to remain over the future of soldiers to be recruited under the 'Agnipath' scheme as the Centre and several state governments are yet to roll out a comprehensive plan for their rehabilitation once they retire after four years of service in the armed forces.
Adding to the anxiety of the youths, none of the states ruled by the opposition parties announced any favourable recruitment scheme for 'Agniveers' to be hired under the scheme, while a few demanded that it be completely withdrawn.
After the June 14 announcement of the 'Agnipath' scheme, at least 18 states and Union Territories - Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Delhi - witnessed protests, some of them violent.
While BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Assam announced that they would give preference to 'Agniveers' in the recruitment for police, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said it has decided to reserve 10 per cent vacancies in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and Assam Rifles for 'Agniveers'.
However, experts believe that the process would not be so simple.
A state police recruitment board head said reservation cannot be more than 50 per cent in employment and most of the 'Agniveers' will be in the unreserved category as the Army has no reservation system.
"So, the idea that they can be absorbed in CAPFs and state police may not work. They have to be considered only against 50 per cent of unreserved vacancies. It will also mean that meritorious and better-educated non-Agniveers will find it difficult to join the police. This will impact the efficiency of the police.
"So, how does the policy of Army recruitment reconcile with the system of reservation in the civilian sector of the government," the state police recruitment board head asked.
Experts also believe that the entire process may come under legal scrutiny as it is not clear whether the pay of a retired 'Agniveer' after the four-year-stint in the armed forces will be protected and seniority maintained.
"This will be a tight rope walk for the government as this needs to be cleared to avoid any disgruntlement among the constables recruited directly by the state police," an expert said.
The Centre on June 14 had unveiled the ambitious 'Agnipath' scheme for the recruitment of youths aged between 17 and a half and 21 in the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, largely on a four-year short-term contractual basis.
Two days later, on June 16, it raised the upper age limit for recruitment to 23 years for 2022 as the protests against the new model for enrolment of soldiers into the three services intensified.
After the completion of the four-year tenure, 25 per cent of the recruits from each batch will be offered regular service.
Police officers of eastern states such as Bihar, Assam and West Bengal are tight-lipped about recruiting Agniveers' after their retirement, saying it is a policy decision that has to be made by the respective government.
Since 2006, ex-servicemen are being recruited in Bihar as Special Auxiliary Police personnel on a two-year contract and this model was later followed by several states, former director general of Bihar police, Abhayanand, said.
"But the recruitment of Agniveers' (after retirement from the defence services) by the state police will not be contractual. Therefore, legal aspects of this scheme need to be examined," the former DGP told.