BY COL SS RAJAN
CONSTITUTION OF A FRESH COMMITTEE TO LOOK INTO THE ANOMALIES IN PAY & ALLOWANCES GRANTED TO PERSONNEL OF THE DEFENCE SERVICES AND INTO GRIEVANCES OF EX-SERVICEMEN & DEFENCE FAMILY PENSIONERS RELATING TO THEIR PENSION (OROP) & AND ALLIED GRIEVANCES RELATED TO WELFARE OF EX-SERVICEMEN & DEFENCE FAMILY PENSIONERS AND TO RECOMMEND STEPS TO ALLEVIATE THEIR GRIEVANCES & SUFFERINGS
INTRODUCTION
6. There is tremendous resentment amongst the EX-SERVICEMEN in the Country, on account of pain & anguish brought about by years of neglect & apathy by the Govt. of India, in not addressing the various issues relating to their pension & resettlement. On acceptance of the 6th Central Pay Commission Report, the serving soldier was downgraded & degraded in their status and pay & allowances; and, there was further widening in the levels of disparity in Pension of Ex-Servicemen & Defence Family Pensioners: post Jan 2006 retirees vis-à-vis pre Jan 2006 retirees. The gross injustice meted out the personnel of the Defence Services and Ex-Servicemen; on acceptance of the 6th Central Pay Commission Report, resulted in popular upsurge, giving rise to numerous ESM rallies led by Veteran Generals, Admirals & Air Marshals in major cities & towns across the Country, in favour of grant of ONE RANK ONE PENSION.
REPORT BY THE PARLIAMENTARY STANDING COMMITTEE ON DEFENCE ON GRANT OF ONE RANK ONE PENSION (OROP) TO EX-SERVICEMEN.
7. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence, comprising 44 eminent Members of Parliament, had in their Report to Lok Sabha on 19 Aug 2003, strongly recommended the grant of ONE RANK ONE PENSION (OROP) to Ex-Servicemen. Para 99 of the said Report is reproduced below:
“The Committee has been recommending grant of `ONE RANK ONE PENSION’ to the armed forces personnel time and again. The Committee observes that successive Governments and Pay Commissions have made improvements in the pension structure keeping in view the cost of living index. This has accentuated the disparity of pensionary benefits between pensioners of the same rank. The older pensioners who have become infirm in ability and capability and burdened with a larger social obligation receive pension calculated at the rate of pay at the time of their retirement in 1950s or 1960s or 1970s, which is quite paltry and the Dearness Relief quite inconsequential in today’s context of inflation and shrinking purchasing value of money. The nation must repay its debt to those Defendents of the motherland with gratitude and humility. We should, instead of, looking for precedents in this regard, create precedents for the others to emulate. Any amount paid in this regard would be small token of our gratitude to them. The Committee, therefore, once again reiterates their earlier recommendation for providing `ONE RANK ONE PENSION’ to the armed forces personnel”.
8. It would be pertinent to note that even the present Parliamentary Standing Committee for Defence has strongly recommended grant of ONE RANK ONE PENSION to Ex-Servicemen.
REPORT BY THE COMMITTEE OF SECRETARIES IN JUNE 2009
9. In 2008 the present UPA Govt convened a Committee of Secretaries headed by the Cabinet Secretary to study the feasibility of granting ONE RANK, ONE PENSION. Unfortunately, the hopes of 2.5 million Ex-Servicemen were severely dashed with the publication of the Committee Report in end June 2009, which in short said NO to the grant of ONE RANK, ONE PENSION.
ANALYSIS OF THE REPORT BY THE COMMITTEE OF SECRETARIES SUBMITTED IN 2009
10. On detailed study & analysis of the 21 pages Report dated 30 June 2009, on ONE RANK ONE PENSION (OROP), by the Committee of Secretaries headed by the learned Cabinet Secretary, it would be crystal clear that, the Committee of Secretaries who were tasked to study ‘the feasibility of granting OROP’, have in fact arrogated to themselves the onerous duty of deciding ‘as to why OROP can not be granted & should NOT be granted to Ex-Servicemen’ by submitting a Report, which at best can be called ‘a litany of half truths’ with serious intent of obfuscation of truth; with the sole aim of misleading & misguiding the Ministers & Members of Parliament, by substantiating their illuminating recommendation, viz. OROP can not be granted to Ex-Servicemen, on the specious grounds that, ‘if OROP is granted to Ex-Servicemen, grant of OROP to civilians in Govt service, too, would have to be conceded, as both Civilian and Military Pensioners are governed by the same set of Pay & Pension regulations’.Nothing can be farther from the truth. And to put it mildly, the Committee of Secretaries (CoS) headed by the learned Cabinet Secretary has been ‘economical with truth’ by selectively quoting only adverse recommendations of Committees, Ministries & judicial verdicts, viz. saying, Ministry of Law opined that “the issue had come up for consideration before the Supreme Court in a number of cases, wherein the Ex-Servicemen has not been found to be entitled to ‘One Rank One Pension’ under the existing legal regime” and CoS going on to deliberately misquote the Supreme Court as saying, “This may entail discrimination, offending the principles of equality before law as enshrined in our Constitution”, and also that “That may amount to treating ‘unequal’ as ‘equal’, if all of them are to be treated alike by providing same pension, while ignoring their respective variations in length of service and average pay”. The point to note here is that the malicious intent of the Committee of Secretaries comes to the fore, by their quoting Supreme Court judgements not relevant to the subject, fully aware that that the Supreme Court had said so, ie. Grant of ONE RANK ONE PENSION is not feasible, only in the case of pensioners with ‘variations in service’; when, the same is NOT applicable in our case; as we have all along been asking for ONE RANK ONE PENSION, only in respect of pensioners of same rank with EQUAL length of service, irrespective of their date of retirement. The Report is an Obfuscation of Truth,because, nowhere in their Report, is there any mention regarding the ‘Report by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence, strongly & repeatedly recommending grant of ONE RANK ONE PENSION to Ex-Servicemen’.
REPORT BY THE PETITIONS COMMITTEE OF RAJYA SABHA ON GRANT OF ONE RANK ONE PENSION TO EX-SERVICEMEN
11. On studying numerous Petitions from Ex-Servicemen for grant of ONE RANK ONE PENSION and after evaluating their maintainability; the Petitions Committee of the Rajya Sabha have in their Report (in 2012) has strongly ruled in favour of granting ONE RANK ONE PENSION.
UPA GOVT INDULGING IN GIMMICKRY FOR THE SECOND TIME BY AGAIN CONSTITUTING A COMMITTEE OF SECRETARIES HEADED BY THE CABINET SECRETARY TO LOOK INTO THE ANOMALIES IN PAY & ALLOWANCES OF PERSONNEL OF THE DEFENCE SERVICES AND PENSION (OROP) AND ALLIED GRIEVANCES RELATED TO WELFARE OF EX-SERVICEMEN & DEFENCE FAMILY PENSIONERS
12. There is a sense of outrage amongst the Ex-Servicemen that they are being taken for a ride once again by the UPA Govt. by convening a Committee of Secretaries for the second time to look into the anomalies in pay & allowances of personnel of the Defence Services and Pension (OROP) and allied grievances related to Welfare of Ex-Servicemen & Defence Family Pensioners; as, no Serving Officer of the Defence Services and no Military Veteran has been nominated / co-opted as members of the Committee to look into the anomalies in Pay, Pension and OROP, etc; and as very little time has been given to the Committee to come up with recommendations to improve the lot of Ex-Servicemen & Defence Family Pensioners. The Ex-Servicemen are indignant and feel that the Committee set up is more of an eye wash and its recommendations would amount to nothing more than throwing crumbs.
EX-SERVICEMEN DESIRE CONSTITUTION OF A FRESH COMMITTEE
13. Going by past experience of treachery & chicanery by the Bureaucracy in deftly sabotaging & subverting acceptance of any increase in pay & allowances to serving Defence Services personnel and granting of increased Pension (OROP) to retired Defence Service personnel; Ex-Servicemen desire that the Committee of Secretaries now convened be scrapped in its entirety; and a fresh committee headed by the Hon’ble Defence Minister be constituted to look into anomalies in matters of Pay & Allowances of serving soldiers and Pension (OROP), etc. of Ex-Servicemen & Defence Family Pensioners. It is imperative that a few Members of Parliament who have served in the Army, Navy or Air Force, irrespective of their political affiliation (ie. cutting across party lines) and a few serving Officers of the Army, Navy & Air Force and Military Veterans be nominated or co-opted as members of the fresh committee.
CIVILIAN CONTROL OVER THE ARMED FORCES IN A DEMOCRACY
14. India is a Democratic Country; and, in a Democracy, the Country is governed by the ‘elected representatives of the people’, viz. Members of Parliament, who go on to form the Council of Ministers. And, it is the Council of Ministers and Members of Parliament, who after due discussion & deliberation of various issues, frame laws, rules & regulations for the efficient governance & administration of the Country; keeping in mind the concerns of National Security and the welfare & well-being of the people, who are SUPREME.
15. Civilian control over the Armed Forces in a Democracy, DOES NOT mean control by the Bureaucrats. Hark back to history of the Sub-Continent: when things went wrong in 1962, it is only the ‘heads’ of Ministers and the Soldiers at the helm, which rolled and NOT of any Bureaucrat. And hence, it is high time that the Hon’ble Prime Minister realized that the Question of ONE RANK ONE PENSION and resettlement of Ex-Servicemen can not be allowed to fester any longer and needs his personal attention. By virtue of their proximity to the elected representatives in power and in the garb of rendering help, assistance & support and advice to the elected representatives in exercising civilian control over the Armed Forces in a Democracy, over the years, Bureaucracy in successive Govt. have not only diluted the Combat Effectiveness or Worthiness of the Armed Forces, but also lowered its stature & image in the eyes of the public.
THE GOVT BE ADVICED TO READ THE WRITING ON THE WALL
16. Going by fault lines of resentment and the groundswell of anger amongst the Ex-Servicemen, across the Country, the Govt would be well advised to read the writing on the wall in case they continue to tread the path of callousness towards Ex-Servicemen & Defence Family Pensioners. Ex-Servicemen as disciplined citizens of this Country would NEVER indulge in acts of vandalism or in acts / activities inimical to public interest to draw attention of the Govt. Ex-Servicemen steeped in values of Thyaag, Balidaan & Kurbaani would however not hesitate to sacrifice their lives for the good of the Country and the Fraternity.
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Col Rajan has also sent an Appeal to Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Hon’ble MP (Rajya Sabha) regarding composition of the committee. Placed below:
Respected Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar,
Jai Hind.
1. There is a sense of outrage amongst the Ex-Servicemen that they are being taken for a ride once again by the UPA Govt. by convening a Committee of Secretaries for the second time to look into the anomalies in pay & allowances of personnel of the Defence Services and Pension (OROP) and allied grievances related to Welfare of Ex-Servicemen & Defence Family Pensioners; as, no Serving Officer of the Defence Services and no Military Veteran has been nominated / co-opted as members of the Committee to look into the anomalies in Pay, Pension and OROP, etc; and as very little time has been given to the Committee to come up with recommendations to improve the lot of Ex-Servicemen & Defence Family Pensioners. The Ex-Servicemen are indignant and feel that the Committee set up is more of an eye wash and its recommendations would amount to nothing more than throwing crumbs.
2. Going by past experience of treachery & chicanery by the Bureaucracy in deftly sabotaging & subverting acceptance of any increase in pay & allowances to serving Defence Services personnel and granting of increased Pension (OROP) to retired Defence Service personnel; Ex-Servicemen desire that the Committee of Secretaries now convened be scrapped in its entirety; and a fresh committee headed by the Hon’ble Defence Minister be constituted to look into anomalies in matters of Pay & Allowances of serving soldiers and Pension (OROP), etc. of Ex-Servicemen & Defence Family Pensioners.
3. It is imperative that a few Members of Parliament who have served in the Army, Navy or Air Force, irrespective of their political affiliation (ie. cutting across party lines) and a few serving Officers of the Army, Navy & Air Force and Military Veterans be nominated or co-opted as members of the fresh committee. And to do justice to the task, the Committee be granted four to five months time to first study the problem and then to recommend steps to alleviate sufferings of Serving soldiers and Ex-Servicemen, with regard to their Pay, Pension, etc.
4. You may please consider leading a delegation comprising following important personages to talk to the Hon’ble Prime Minister and to the Hon’ble Defence Minister on the need & urgency to constitute a fresh Committee:
(i) Veteran Brig KP Singh Deo (Congress & former MP). It was Brig KP Singh Deo while heading a Study Group to look into the grievances of Ex-Servicemen; that he recommended implementation of 21 points relating to welfare & well-being of Ex-Servicemen, OROP being on top of the list. The Govt implemented 20 points leaving out the very first recommendation pertaining to grant of OROP. An irony. As it was then, so too today, it is NOT the politician, but the Bureaucracy that is a hurdle and an impediment to the grant of OROP to Ex-Servicemen.
(ii) Veteran Capt Amarinder Singh [Congress & former MP of Lok Sabha].
(iii) Sardar Partap Singh Bajwa [Congress & sitting MP of the Lok Sabha].
(iv) Veteran Capt Abhimanyu [BJP & sitting MP of the Lok Sabha].
(v) Veteran Capt JVS Drona [BJP & former MP of the Lok Sabha].
(vi) Veteran Brig MPS Bajwa, a hero of the 1971 War and Kargil Operations.
5. Time permitting please do go through a BRIEF on the subject placed below.
Regards,
Col SS Rajan
colonelrajan44@gmail.com
Bangalore, 9449043770
why have the armed forces reached this state. is it true that it is system designed by geniuses to be run by fools . the pyramid system and feudal colonial management is the root cause of all the problems . the formation cdrs want their perks dozens of trained solders as guards and sentries
ReplyDeletefree food electricity leave of the land and sit on promotion boards so that htey drive pleasure in slughtering lives of young officers when their liabilities are max and provide nothing in return
the babus have cleverly used the the generals
to do the dirty work and nicely given a kick on the same fellows backside .now when the financial pinch is hurting all right upto generals why the crib now . for generations officers and ranks have suferred in silence the humilation of seeing
their civilian couterparts improve thier wellbeing while our seniors saw that we got misery.
Sir, Why not join Civil side as a Class I Officer (IAS/IPS/IRS) instead of joining as Commissioned Officer in Armed Forces for sacrificing life for currupt Politicians and Beuracrats in INDIA. Or make one Adolf Hitler out of one of our Indian Generals for dictatorship in India. God bless all and Amen.
ReplyDeleteIt is the fault of parents who allow their sons to join Military and also Sons who do not want to learn/educate themselves beyond XII standard, after becoming CO they want to command, but due to Selection grade later on they can not reach Generals Level and retire as major, Lt. Col at the most Col. Then the successive pay commissions improv pensions of PBORS and Generals Only. Hence class of CO from Lt. to Lt. Col. always crib, whime in agony. While they were in service, they have behaved the same way to PBORs, had they forgotten? Amen God bless us all from Them. Amen.
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