Chandigarh, April 22

Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh has opposed the move of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to merge the Chandigarh cadre DSPs with those of all union territories, including Delhi.He has demanded that status quo be maintained till the dispute over Chandigarh between Punjab and Haryana was settled.The CM has directed the Chief Secretary to prepare a formal proposal on setting up a special cell in the General Administration to deal with Chandigarh-related issues in order to protect the interests of Punjab and bring it in the next Cabinet meeting.In a statement issued here, the CM said any move to erode the state’s stake in Chandigarh was not acceptable to Punjab. Capt said any such move would limit the avenues for the career progression of senior Punjab officers in line for promotion.The proposal of the MHA would lead to merger of all sanctioned posts of DSP of Chandigarh with the entry grade of the combined cadre of Delhi and other UTs, which would allow their transfer/posting in any UT, the CM pointed out. — TNS