Ex-servicemen await benefits of one-rank-one-pay

7 Jul 2009, 0131 hrs IST, TNN
PUNE: With 45 per cent of ex-servicemen of Maharashtra settled in the Pune region, the Union Budget's one-rank-one-pension' announcement spelt good cheer. However, most of beneficiaries now await the actualities of how they stand to benefit from the move.

Under the Union Budget for 2009-10, the government has increased the pension of ex-servicemen. The new and revised pension will be implemented beginning this month, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee told the Lok Sabha while presenting the Budget.

"Based on the recommendation of a committee on one-rank-one-pension', the government has decided to substantially improve the pension of the pre-January 1, 2006, defence pensioners below officer rank and bring pre-October 10, 1997, pensioners on par with post-October 10, 1997, pensioners," Mukherjee said during the presentation.

It may be noted that the pre-January 1, 2006, pensioners were affected following implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations last October, while the pre- and post-October 10, 1997, pensioners were impacted by the Fifth Pay Commission recommendations.

For long, organisations of ex-servicemen had been demanding that the disparity in pension to personnel holding the same rank and service record, but retiring at different points of time, be removed.

"The decision will benefit a large number of soldiers, especially those who retired before 1996," said Bhagatsinh Deshmukh, former director of Maharashtra State Sainik Welfare Board. "Still, this is just an announcement. The realities will show after the full details are revealed."

According to Deshmukh, nearly 60,000 defence personnel retire in our country every year. Out of this, 10 per cent are from Maharashtra. There are around two lakh ex-servicemen in the state at present. Most of them are settled in the Pune region, which has five districts including Pune, Solapur, Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara.

"We are happy that our pensions have been increased," Maruti Lawate, a retired solider told TOI. He also said that he and his other colleagues are now waiting to go through the details of this decision.

Another ex-serviceman, Dattatraya Jadhav, said, "An increase or making the pensions equal was much-needed. Especially in these times of increasing inflation," he said. "In some cases, junior officers or people who have served for a less number of years are getting more pension. This kind of discrepancies would go after this decision."
Ex-servicemen await benefits of one-rank-one-pay