1. One-Rank-One-Pension (OROP)
During the run up to the elections to the current Lok Sabha, the Congress Party had explicitly supported the very reasonable aspiration for OROP made by the veterans during the election rallies. The Pay Commission has summarily rejected the proposal. We wish to reiterate the point that the soldiers retire relatively at a very early age and their case must be de- linked from their civilian counterparts who serve to the age of sixty. This issue merits consideration by the Union cabinet.
2. Resettlement of Ex- Servicemen
We are pained to observe that an overwhelming number of our veterans are jobless. Pension is their sole means of livelihood. With the passage of time their nutrition levels fall and that lowers their life expectancy. Without work, their lives lose meaning, and they are considered a burden by their kinsfolk. There is a crying need to introduce a “Transition Assistance Program” (TAP) on the lines of the practice followed in the USA.
3. Representation of Soldiers on Premier Committees
We are pained to learn that the government rejected the appeal of the service chiefs to appoint a soldier as a member of the recent pay commission. It gave us an impression that the country does not trust the soldiers. The committee appointed to ‘resolve’ the issues is also composed of officers from a single cadre of civil servants. We wish to state unequivocally that we have lost faith in the bureaucracy to do justice to our cause. The Defense Secretary has never worn uniform. How will he know where the shoe pinches?
4. Inequities in the Report of the Pay Commission
The report is heavily biased against the soldier. It shows complete lack of knowledge of the ethos of the military. The military service pay (MSP) recommended for all ranks from Sepoy to the Subedar Major is Rs 1000 as against Rs 6000 granted to a greenhorn Lieutenant. How will the Commanding Officer be able to justify this? A similar aberration has been created in the salaries of the middle level officers, merely to keep them below the civil services. Those aberrations should be removed.
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