Pay parity for armed forces a difficult task, says Govt

Sun, Nov 23 03:19 PM
Achinta Borah New Delhi, Nov 23 (PTI) With the armed forces insisting on a pay hike, the government has said it is "very difficult" to maintain a balance in salaries of government servants doing varied jobs. "It is a very difficult exercise.

Because it is not just a question of ensuring that people get better salaries. It is also a question of parities. Balances," Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar told PTI in an interview.

He was responding to a question on what steps the government was contemplating in view of the armed forces' demand for pay parity. Chandrasekhar said issues become more complicated when people start feeling that they are being discriminated against by the Pay Commission recommendations.

"It is very difficult when people feel that this chap has got more than me. That feeling is there. So, to maintain that kind of balance. It is very difficult," he said. The Cabinet Secretary said the ministerial committee headed by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who had held both Defence and Finance portfolios earlier, was working on to find out a solution to the demands of the defence forces.

The armed forces have recently strongly conveyed to the government that there should be "no dilution" on their demands for pay parity. This comes in the wake of reports that the government was trying to find a "middle path" to break the deadlock over the armed forces' demands that included placing Army Lieutenant Colonels and their equivalents in the Navy and Air Force in Pay Band-4.
Pay parity for armed forces a difficult task, says Govt

Comment: The government certainly has not made an attempt to maintain balance of salaries rather it has skewed the existing parity and dumped the Armed Forces with a view to diminish its command and control structure. What needs to be seen is whether its intent and purport was wilfull or by oversight? No Chief of Armed Forces will accept to degrade his own Forces to the ultimate peril and security of the Nation.