THE INDIAN Army has once again been called in at the last second to replace the collapsed foot overbridge near the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium constructed by the PWD. I leave it to the people of the country to form their own opinion on the commitment, pride, accountability and efficiency of the civil department and its masters in handing over to problem to the Army after being at it for well over a year.
Despite the Armed Forces being a 24 x 7, all weather and all problem response, why are soldiers being treated shabbily? Why is a soldier retired compulsorily at an early age without a suitable alternative career or being compensated for the overall loss of his lifetime earnings while every other government servant retires at an age of 60 or above? Doesn’t the government compensate government servants and employees of the Public Sector Undertakings by paying them a handsome compensation for a Voluntary Retirement Scheme? Even the lowly One Rank One Pension that can partially offset the loss of overall lifetime earnings is being denied.
Why? Doesn’t a soldier need as much finances to bring up his children and take care of his family as anyone else in the society? Talking of finances, the government has no problem providing Rs 70,000 crore for the botched up Commonwealth Games, Rs 80,000 crore for the loan waiver scheme for the farmers or to enhance the pay and allowances of the Parliamentarians.
The loss to the exchequer through illegal mining or scams which surface almost on a daily basis does not seem to be a cause of financial worry to the ruling class but when it comes to paying the soldier, they seem to have an inexplicable predicament.
Brigadier V Mahalingam ( Retired)
Mail Today Sep 2010 Page 40
India’s Defense Budget Jumps 15 Percent
1 week ago
No comments:
Post a Comment