SCPC: Respect and Honour the Armed Forces

The government must understand that the whole nation is watching the developments and it must realise that the people regard the Armed Forces in high esteem, more than that of the other services. The Khabrein Info. writes “The people have already witnessed the Veterans hitting the streets and also the government’s insult heaped on India’s greatest soldier Sam Manekshaw during his funeral and further handling of the issue in a squalid manner would send a wrong signal as though an unholy politician- bureaucrat nexus has been playing dirty games against the Armed Forces. It is high time the Forces are respected and honoured and given their due.

Ever since the Sixth Central Pay Commission submitted its recommendations to the government, the Armed Forces and Military Veterans have been conveying their grievances to the government through all possible ways. As the UPA government has not been listening to their grievances showing scant regard, the Military Veterans took the unprecedented step of hitting the streets, while the Armed forces remained disciplined and focused on their job. The Indian Ex- Servicemen Movement (IESM) conducted nationwide protest demonstrations, sit- in fasts and protest marches, which were widely covered & reported by the media.

The Armed Forces and the Veterans have had some genuine demands like One Rank One Pension, Resettlement of Veterans, Representation of soldiers on Premier Committees, Inequities in the sixth Pay Commission, Formation of separate commission for defence forces, Addressing all anomalies with respect to the sixth pay commission, Compensation for war disabled and compensation for early retirement, etc.

Despite several representations and meetings with the Chiefs of the three services, the Finance Minister has been unrelenting and prevailing upon even the Prime Minister. The Defence Minister, who has been directly dealing with the Forces, understood the seriousness of the situation, sought the intervention of the Prime Minister conveying to him the discontent brewing in the three services, apart from writing letters to the Finance Minister. In his letter to the finance minister, the defence minister has raised the issues of Personnel Below the Officer Rank (PBOR) and the ‘extant pensionary weightage’.

Under the Sixth CPC proposal, the PBORs are to be given an opportunity for lateral entry into the paramilitary and central police forces, but they would forgo 50 per cent of their pension calculated on the basis of their last drawn pay at retirement. As the government has refused to approve the proposal for their lateral entry into the paramilitary forces, the PBORs are in a precarious situation of losing out both on re- employment and pension fronts.

Compared with the civil & paramilitary services, the military services have been blatantly discriminated against with regards to service recognition as well as pay packages. The Military establishment has objected on the grounds of ‘Disparity in Pay Bands’ as the civil officers have been moved to Pay Band 4, while the officers from the services are kept stagnant at Pay Band 3; ‘Disparity in Grade Pay’ as there is a disparity in the grade pay between the middle-rank officers comparatively ‘Restricting the Elite List’ as the DGs and DGPS from the civil & paramilitary services have been included in the Higher Administrative Grade (HAG), their equal ranks of Lt Generals have not been included.

Even while the government announced the acceptance of the recommendations of the Sixth pay commission on the Independence Day saying that the new packages would be issued to 50 lakh government employees on October 1, it failed to realise the resentment flowing through the three services. Though a 13 member committee of secretaries assured the services of taking care of their grievances, the real picture after the announcement has not changed much resulting in the outrage of the Armed Forces.

The Armed Forces in an unprecedented manner refused to accept the revised pay- packages, but the government remained adamant. Again in an unprecedented move, the three Chiefs submitted their salary bills as per the old pay structures, taking the government by shock & surprise. Only then the government realised the gravity of the situation and the Prime minister, who has been concentrating only on the N-Deal for the last three and a half years, ordered for a constitution of a special panel headed by External Affairs Minister and the finance minister and the defence minister would also be included in the panel, to look into the disparities & anomalies with regards to the sixth pay commission. Meanwhile, the Armed Forces, known for their patriotism & discipline, have agreed to accept the ad hoc payment, while resting their hopes on the newly constituted panel.
SCPC: Respect & honour the Forces

Comment: It is shameful that the political system has systematically been taken hostage by the IAS bureaucracy with attendant red- tape and manipulation of rules to benefit their own fraternity. Do Politicans have the time to unravel the Game plan of IAS bureaucrats?
The PBORs are still being given a raw deal. It is the Jawans like pawns in a chess game prove vital for victory in combat. The PBORs (which includes JCOs and NCOs) MSP should be at least 50% of Rs 6000/ that the officers are entitled. The Defence Forces salaries need to be tailored so that the ratio of lowest to highest paid is not less than 1:5.
The ESM have been the hardest hit. With ever increasing pension anomalies created by every Central Pay Commission, one needs to ponder why the Government is averse to sanction "One Rank One Pension"? Why Court rulings are not being implemented by the Bureaucrats!