Fragging and Dissatisfaction

Zila Sainik Boards (associations of ex-servicemen) have been asked to liaise closely with the district administration to ensure soldiers serving as well as ex- servicemen problems are addressed timely. However,the Soldiers application generally are delayed in the bureaucratic wrangle. The District Collectors show an indifferent attitude in timely resolution of Soldiers woes.
There is a urgent requirement for the civil administration to address problems faced by the serving soldiers/ ex- servicemen and their kin on priority. With the fragmentation of land holdings, a large number of soldiers serving as well ex- servicemen get bogged down by property disputes with close relatives and care- takers. The increasing lawlessness in rural areas is affecting their families and adding to their worries. The concerned civil administration departments need to understand that the serving soldiers cannot get leave beyond a prescribed limit and must therefore resolve to provide a helping hand. Similarly ex- servicemen in their twilight years do not have the strength to fight for their rights to get back rightfully the landed property as care- takers/ lessee's usurp the land holdings.
In the past, recommendations of commanding officers to the district administration about problems being faced by personnel under their command carried weight, but now they are largely overlooked. Similarly earlier ex- servicemen could approach the State Governments to have their lands released from lessee's/ care takers. At present the applications move up the ladder at snails pace if at all it moves! This must be corrected and an institutional arrangement set in place to give due consideration to the problems faced by serving soldiers as well ex-servicemen.