SCPC: Debugging ESM Pension Anomalies

Date: Sunday, 19 July, 2009, 7:49 AM
Dear Chander,
Please go through the excerpt from the news published in today's Tribune, which I have cut and pasted below...

The minister said: “Since the issue on which they were agitating has been adequately addressed by the committee, the government expects them to honour their hard earned medals”. He was pointing out to the fact that several officers and jawans had handed over their gallantry medals to President Pratibha Patil.

The minister in question is Sh MM Pallam Raju, Union Minister of State for Defence.

I have following comments:

It is a pity that the Hon'ble minister still thinks that the faujis will be taken in by some half hearted, half baked, belated sops accompanied by sweet talk. Them days are gone forever. He and his ministry must shed their old thinking. Now the fauji wants justice and no half measures. For the first time, all ESMs and ESM orgs have decided to unite and put up a united front. It is time for the ministry to give a very serious thought to the demands of the services and the ESMs.

It is nice that the hon'ble minister has described the medals as hard earned and wants the ESM to take them back. Thank God for little mercies and a belated acknowledgement. There is no doubt that the agitation and return of medals by IESM has had a tremendous effect. A united ESM fraternity will now be able to achieve full justice for the veterans.

Since anomalies to the detriment of the services as well as ESM have increased with each central pay commission and also since the govt has conceded that we all will have a separate pay commission, the govt should form a special pay commission for the armed forces right now. Serving and retired personnel should be on this commission and sort out hundreds of anomalies. Needless to say, the bureaucrats should be kept away from it. The decision making should be between the services and the politicians.
Kind regards,
K K Punchhi
(Cdr KK Punchhi, Baker Sqn - 7th JSW Course, Founder Member of Naval Aviation and Pride of Naval Aviation, settled in Canada. He was among the first few members of IESM who sent Rs 50,000.00 as contributions for IESM.)
Classification allowance for jawans from Jan 2006: Tribune News Service
Lieutenant-generals to get higher pay scales by Vijay Mohan: Tribune News Service