The 6th CPC has further downgraded the ranks of the Army and equated a Civil Services officer with 4 years of Service (Senor Time Scale) with a Major with 6 years of service. An officer with 9 years of service (Junior Administrative Grade) has been equated with a Lt Col with 13 years behind him. A Non- Functional Selection Grade Officer with 13 years of service is now equivalent to a Colonel with 20 years while a DIG with 14 years is now at par with a Brigadier with 28 years. A Senior Administrative Grade Civil Officer with 17 years of service is now equivalent in pay to a Maj Gen with 33 years behind him. A Director General of the Para- Military who is on Article 25 of the Warrant of Precedence would now take home more pay than a Lt Gen who is on Article 24.
In 1992, General SF Rodrigues, the then Chairman, Chief of Staffs Committee had, in a strongly worded letter, written to the Defence Minister expressing concern over the tendency of civil officers in the Defence Ministry to adopt unauthorized and exaggerated designations based on non- existent conventions, but as expected no action was taken. The same remains true till date and the Sixth Pay Commission has merely carried on with a legacy based on incorrect equations articulated by babus to fuel their false perceptions of greatness and grandeur.
Not many are aware that till the 6th CPC, the Army had an edge over the IAS in terms of pay scales and for the first time this pay commission has granted higher scales in equivalent grades to the IAS while the Army has been relegated and placed along with other Central Group A Services. The reason provided by the Commission for a higher pay package to the IAS, well it is ‘frequent transfers and postings to small places’. Over to the anomalies committee of the Finance Ministry now.
Maj Navdeep Singh (Retd)
Advocate, Punjab & Haryana High Court
Visit Blog: Indian Military: Service Benefits and Issues
Comment: The IAS Officers are pampered with higher scales of pay for "frequent transfers and postings to small places" sounds illogical. A joke too difficult to fathom. The defence forces personnel operate in the Jungles, Deserts, Mountains and and as a matter of fact moved frequently to ensure security of the Nation. Assisting the state Governments, combating insurgency, quelling riots. Who moves and who is shuffled more frequently and unceasingly to more insignificant border posts? Will the MSP contemplated fully compensate for the turbulent life of a Soldier?
Filling the submarine gap
1 day ago
No comments:
Post a Comment