By Nitin Gokhale
Indian
army soldiers patrol near the line of control.
(Photo: Reuters)
India’s 2.5 million plus
military veterans are both anxious and angry. For over a decade they have been
told they will be granted the ‘One Rank One Pension,’ scheme meant to ensure
that a uniform pension is paid to all defence personnel who retire at the same rank
with the same length of service, irrespective of their date of retirement.
Rank Injustice
Throughout the UPA I and
II, the government simply ignored their demand thanks to its proclivity to go
with the advice of the civilian bureaucrats who opposed the scheme tooth and
nail. However, towards the fag end of the Manmohan Singh government it was agreed
in principle to clear the scheme, keeping the bulk votes that the ex-servicemen
bring in. The last-minute ruse did not work for the UPA though.
Realising the importance of
correcting the wrong, the Narendra Modi government and the prime minister himself
gave renewed hope to the veterans by announcing the implementation of the OROP
scheme “as soon as possible.” That promise is now nearly a year old and if
several associations of military veterans are to be believed, the government is
nowhere near putting the money where the mouth is.
For months, the file for
OROP is shuttling between the defence and the finance ministries over minor
issues. Initially, officials of two ministries differed on the amount required
to fulfil the demand. The finance ministry cited a Supreme Court observation in
a case filed by a veteran to raise further queries.
Defense Minister Manohar
Parrikar walks past the
Indian and Japanese flags as he inspects the
'Guard of Honour'
(Photo: Reuters)
Once those queries were
answered satisfactorily, it was believed that all hurdles were cleared. Defence
Minister Manohar Parrikar, who has taken a personal interest in the matter, in
fact told this writer on April 10:
All
hurdles, including a political clearance on the scheme’s financial
implications, have been removed. Now the actual calculation and administrative
details are being worked out. We are sure to get the scheme rolling in the next
few weeks.
-Manohar Parrikar, Defence Minister
Admitting that
there is huge scepticism over the OROP scheme implementation, Parrikar said: “This time
we have ensured that nothing goes wrong.” At that time he had
refused to put a timeline, clearly aware of the bureaucratic nitty-gritty that
often trips all grand schemes.
Red Tape Hurdles for
OROP Scheme
During the last three
weeks, the file has shuttled at least thrice between South and North Block (the
building that houses the defence and finance ministries, respectively). Each
time the finance ministry has raised a query, the defence ministry has worked
on war footing to satisfy the finicky finance ministry babus.
Defence ministry officials
and ‘pay cells’ in the three service HQs now say the final calculations are
being worked out and that Modi will himself announce the rollout of the scheme
before the NDA government completes one year in office on May 26.
Once finally cleared, the
move is likely to cost somewhere between Rs 7,500 and Rs 10,000 crore annually. Military veterans are
keeping their fingers crossed. They have experienced many a slip between the
cup and the lip in the past. But more than their disappointment, it is Modi’s
promise that is at stake here. The question is: how close is the government to
find a final solution to this long drawn issue?
(Nitin A. Gokhale is an
analyst on National Security, Media Trainer and Author)
Dear Sirs,
Though we all are tired of
such opinions/write-ups, but only the interested members can read the appended
text. It is MoF who is delaying the things. Links for the same is also given
below:
When we hunger for a loaf of bread we find they go with buffet meal.we are not jealous upon them. Let us get our dues
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