Chandigarh, July 15 -- The Punjab government on Monday promoted eight IPS officers of the 1994 batch to the rank of director general of police (DGP), a move that is set to further increase the number of top-level officials in an already top-heavy police force. The home department on Monday notified the promotions of the new DGPs. The list includes 1994-batch IPS officers - Naresh Kumar, Ram Singh, Sudhanshu Shekhar Srivastava, Parveen Kumar Sinha, B Chandra Shekhar, Amardeep Singh Rai, Neerja Voruvuru, and Anita Punj. With these promotions, Punjab, a small state with only 23 districts, now has 20 DGPs, the highest in the country. The state police already had 12 officers of DGP rank. Uttar Pradesh, which is almost 4.7 times bigger than Punjab, presently has only 19 DGPs, out of which one is on central deputation. Maharashtra, another big state, has only three DGP rank officials, with one being on central deputation. The neighbouring state Haryana has seven DGPs, out of which one is on central deputation. Punjab now has a total of 47 officers above the rank of inspector general (IG). There are 16 ADGPs and 11 IGPs. Following this, the process of promoting IGPs is expected to begin shortly. As per the provision and notification of the personnel department of the government of India, Punjab has two sanctioned posts of DGPs. However, the Centre's IPS cadre rules permit the government to create more posts of DGPs on a temporary basis for a maximum of two years. According to the gradation list of IPS officers, available on the Punjab Police website, 12 IPS officers currently hold the DGP rank. Among them, Parag Jain (additional secretary) and Harpreet Sidhu are on central deputation. Jain is presently the head of the research and analysis wing (RAW). However, despite this high number, Punjab still does not have a regular DGP. Gaurav Yadav has been officiating as DGP since 2023. The Punjab Police has yet to send a panel to the UPSC for the selection of a regular DGP. Other DGP-rank officers include Sanjiv Kalra, SS Chauhan, Kuldip Singh, Gurpreet Deo, Varinder Kumar, Ishwar Singh, Jitendra Kumar Jain, Shashi Prabha Dwivedi, and Arpit Shukla. The promotion of the 1994-batch officers was due on December 31, 2023, but was delayed. In December 2024, chief secretary KAP Sinha halted the process, raising concerns about the growing number of DGPs and arguing that there was no provision for such a large number of top-ranking officers. The home department initiated the process of promoting eight ADGPs to DGP rank in November 2023. As per Punjab Police norms, an officer is eligible to become an IG, ADGP, or DGP after completing 18, 25, and 30 years of service, respectively. "Punjab has 23 districts and almost the same number of DGPs. Except for the DGP (head of police), chief director vigilance, and DGP intelligence, most of the senior officers do not have any major responsibilities. There is a need to reorganise the police structure and promote the trend of Punjab cadre IPS officers opting for central deputation," commented a senior IAS officer, pleading anonymity. "A top-heavy force leads to cutthroat competition for top posts and becomes a burden on the state, as these officers are entitled to numerous privileges, including multiple security personnel...There is a need to straighten the field force by pushing more officers into the field duties instead of clearing files in headquarters," said another official, who didn't wish to be named....