Around 60 former defence personnel and their families gathered at the Shankaracharya garden, at sector 21 in Nerul at 9:15 am and held a candlelit silent protest at the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission.The personnel are demanding increased pay for the jawans and uniform pension for the same length of service for one rank. They are also demanding government jobs for retired defence personnel and an Armed Forces Pay Review Board. A two-minute silence was observed.
Brigadier (Retd) S P Sharma expressed his distress, “The report of the Sixth Pay Commission has caused shock and dismay among the defence fraternity. For a soldier, who has given his entire life safeguarding the country’s security and who has placed the nation above everything else, it is painful to air his grievances in the open. However, having knocked on all doors and having exhausted all channels to seek redress, we have been forced to launch a public campaign to project four principle concerns.”Speaking of the demands for which the protest was organised, Sharma said, “All servicemen retiring in the same rank after the same length of service should be given equal pension, regardless of their date of retirement. Military service is unique, as it tends to retire its soldiers at a very early age. Their case must be seriously taken into account, as their counterpart civilians are allowed to retire at the age of 60.”
Lamented Sharma, “Though this very reasonable demand has been supported by almost every political party during the run-up to the elections, the Sixth Pay Commission has again rejected it without citing any reasons.” He went on to add, “The soldiers retiring early should be laterally inducted into other central or state government jobs. This recommendation had been made by even the Fourth and Fifth Pay Commissions, but the issue was not pursued. This provision needs to be legislated through an act of the Parliament.”
The personnel are also unhappy with the revised pay scales for the jawans. According to Sharma, “The Pay Commission has recommended a uniform monthly Military Service Pay (MSP) of Rs 1,000 for all jawans, right from a sepoy to a subedar major. This is too meagre compared to the MSP of Rs 6,000 given to officers. The gap is too wide and runs against the military ethos. The MSP for the jawans should be raised to Rs 3,000. The MSP must be implemented from January 1, 2006
The personnel are also upset that the request for the service chiefs to have a separate pay commission for the defence forces was rejected. Said Sharma, “The government also did not agree to have defence representatives on the recent pay commission. For civilian members, who have never worn a military uniform, it is impossible to understand the unique conditions of military service.”
He suggested, “At this stage, the government must constitute an Armed Forces Pay Review Board (AFPRB) with a serving member, each from the three services and one retired person, among others. The AFPRB should be given a six months’ mandate to complete its task.”
Sharma concluded, “The youth today are wary of joining the defence forces, unlike in the past, when there was a huge demand. The government should act fast by providing incentives to ensure that the interest does not reduce further and those ready to sacrifice their life for the country are treated with respect and the future of their families is secured.”
G Mohiuddin Jeddy
Nerul, Posted On Thursday, May 01, 2008
Received from Gp Captain Jaspal Bhinder (Retd)
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