Rank Pay Arrears: Draft Implementation Order Status

06 Nov 2012.
Dear Veterans,
Jai Hind.
After clearance of the Rank Pay Case by the Ministry of Law, Ministry of Defence, Government of India, has cleared the file for payment to the affected officers. MoD has asked the Services Headquarters to prepare the “Draft Implementation Order” and sent it to the Ministry of Defence.
It is reliably learnt that the Pay Cells of the tree Services had anticipated such a letter from MoD and have a draft order ready.
As already informed to you, a senior officer of the AG’s Branch Army Headquarters is/was at Pune to discuss the information that is needed by the PCDA (O), for implementation of the order. Ways and means will be found to get such information with least trouble to the affected Army Officers.
The AG’s Branch Officer now at Pune is the son of a retired Army Officer – so he very well knows all your problems.
As regards the other two Services, Navy and Air Force, their accounts offices have all the information required for implementation of the Rank Pay Case. In case of Army Officers the problem has arisen because of a major fire in the office of PCDA (O) about a decade ago. Lot of records were destroyed in that fire.
In service of Indian Military Veterans.
Chander Kamboj
SC Judgement 4th CPC
Sir,
1. It is reliably learnt that RM has cleared the file for Implementation of the Supreme Court order of 4th Sep 2012.
2. MoD has asked Service Hqs for draft implementation orders.
WBR,
President, RDOA
What the PCDA Pune webpage says
Regarding the implementation of Hon’ble Supreme Court Order dated 04/09/2012, it is reiterated that this office has not received orders from the Government. However PCDA(O), in order to prepare itself for immediate action on receipt of Government orders, decided to approach Retired Army Officers for the information, which might be required for calculation of arrears, but is not available with this office. We realize that there is little likelihood of availability of all this info with the Retired Army Officers. Therefore we are in touch with higher authorities for formulation of the alternate means of retrieving relevant information for calculation of arrears. This office is also awaiting decision of the Government on the matter.
CDA Form for Calculating Rank Pay Arrears

Handbook for Military Pensioners

Dear Sir,
I will request you to get it published in Report My Signals blog. It maybe useful to veterans other than Signals.
With Regards
ID Sharma
Dear ID,
My congratulations for producing the Hand Book. Pse keep doing such things to help the veterans. We have to help ourselves and we have many like you who are doing yeoman's service.
Best wishes.
Sincerely, Harbhajan Singh
Handbook for Pensioners
Handbook for Pensioers

Welfare of troops an example

Dear Veterans,
Couple of days ago, I had been to the Office of Embarkation HQ at Chennai and ran into Nk Manivannan of 5 MADRAS Bn, presently posted at Embarkation HQ at Chennai. What he narrated reminded me of the famous saying by Field Marshal Sir Philip Chetwode:
"The Safety, Honour and Welfare of your Country come first, always and every time. The Honour, Welfare and Comfort of the Men you command come next. Your own ease, Comfort and Safety come last, always and every time."
An Example of how our officers look after the men is placed below.
Regards,
Veteran Cdr Vaidyanathan
Nk Manivannan recounts...
5 MADRAS Bn is deployed in the J&K in counter-insurgency Ops. It was in the beginning of March 2011, that I approached Col Harinder Singh Sidhu, the CO, regarding my problem. My father aged 55 years has been suffering from acute back ache, so much so, that, he can not walk and is bed ridden. My wife at Chennai took him to MH Chennai; but, for want of a Neurosurgeon, could not be operated upon. When approached, my CO, a quintessential Commanding Officer embodying compassion, spoke to Col Srinivas, a Veteran at Bangalore, actively involved in the welfare of Ex-Servicemen, if he could do something to ameliorate the sufferings of my father. In the meantime, my CO was kind to have me posted on compassionate grounds, to Embarkation HQ, Chennai, as my family was stationed there.
I arrived at Bangalore on 25 March, and met Col Srinivas; who then immediately took me to Air Cmde Nanda, the Registrar, Comd Hosp Air Force Bangalore (CHAFB). Air Cmde Nanda having heard me, asked me to get my father immediately to Bangalore; and, requested Wg Cdr Dr Datta, the Neurosurgeon to take up my case.
My father & I arr at Bangalore in the morning of Monday, 28 Mar 2011. Col Srinivas picked us up from the Rly Stn and took us to Comd Hosp Air Force Bangalore (CHAFB), where my father was admitted after examination by Wg Cdr Dr Datta, the Neurosurgeon. Surgery of the spine below the neck was carried out by Neurosurgeons Gp Capt Dr Sridhar and Wg Cdr Dr Datta on 15 Apr. After the surgery, my father was initially kept in the ICU for couple of days; and then, shifted to the General Ward. Thanks to the Registrar, who made available accn to me, I was able to stay next to CHAFB and take care of my father.
Col & Mrs Srinivas visited my father at CHAFB on Sunday, 24 Apr 2011. On hearing from me that my father was being discharged the next day, ie. Monday, 25 Apr; and that, I propose to take him by bus from Bangalore to Tiruvannamalai to Gingee; and from there to my village, 17 km from Gingee; Col Srinivas said a firm NO. Seeing the condition of my father who was bedridden and fitted with a Catheter; Col Srinivas said undertaking a journey by my father by bus from Bangalore to my village would result in undoing the Surgery; and, asked me to collect his Maruti van from his residence and for conveyance of my father to our village, loc nearly 300 km from Bangalore. On 25 Apr when I went to Col Srinivas’ residence to collect the Maruti van; Col Srinivas said that he himself would drive my father to our village, as I was not conversant with the route.
My father was discharged from CHAFB at 4 PM on 25 Apr; and, immediately thereafter, we left for Krishnagiri, 100 km away. We reached Krishnagiri at 7 PM and it was raining cats & dogs. We then stayed put for the night at Tamil Nadu Hotel. Having come to know that the road Krishnagiri to Tiruvannamalai was in a bad state, Col Srinivas decided to take the longer route via Vellore. The next morning, Tuesday, 26 Apr, we hit the road at 5.30 AM; and driving via Vellore – Arcot- Gingee, we reached our village, in the interior, at 1.30 PM. We were received by all our friends & relatives and there was jubilation on arr of my father in the village.
We then had our lunch; and having rested for a while and refreshed ourselves, Col Srinivas & I left for Bangalore at 4 PM. We reached Bangalore at 11.30 PM, after a gruelling drive of 18 hrs, covering 550 km, in one day. And it was Col Srinivas who drove the vehicle.
After having spent the night at Col Srinivas’ residence, I returned to my village on 27 Apr, to attend to my father.
Expression of Gratitude. I am deeply indebted to all Officers starting with Col HS Sidhu, CO 5 MADRAS, Air Cmde Nanda, the Registrar CHAFB, Gp Capt Dr Sridhar & Wg Cdr Dr Datta, the Neurosurgeons, Gp Capt Dr Lalla, the senior anesthetist and to Col Srinivas; for all their help, assistance & support extended to me, an Inf soldier of the Indian Army, in discharging my filial obligation to my father.
To say the least, I am over whelmed; and say with conviction, that the Men of the Indian Army, Navy & Air Force are indeed blessed to have Officers who genuinely care for the welfare & well-being of their Men & their families.

Army HQ’s telephone cables stolen

Army HQ’s telephone cables stolen, high security phones left dead
by FP Staff Oct 12, 2012
The civilian government experienced a communication gap with the military on Thursday, when over 1,000 phones in the Army headquarters in the national capital went dead, after thieves made off with copper wiring used for telephone lines.
Over 1,000 phones including Remote Access Terminal phones that are used by army officials to communicate with ministers and government officials went dead, initially prompting fears of a security breach. However the incident was later verified to be the result of the theft of several tonnes of copper wires used in a junction box inside the guarded army headquarters, according to an Indian Express report.
“It is not possible to carry away such a massive quantity of heavy copper wire on foot. The thieves seem to have used a vehicle, probably a mini truck. It is suspected that they came in the guise of MTNL staff,”a police official who is investigating the theft was quoted as saying.
Since the rise in prices of copper, theft of telephone wires for extraction or reselling of copper is hardly uncommon. In a recent incident, over 10,000 phones in a Mumbai suburb went dead due to thieves stealing over 100 metres worth of wiring in order to resell it. And in Hyderabad, thieves made off with thousands of kilos of metals from industrial units.
However, in this case the choice of target in this case is more bold than most cases reported earlier.
Army HQ’s telephone cables stolen, high security phones left dead

Rank Pay: The conspirators of deceit and cheating need to be identified

Repost
Dear Friends,
We had the pleasure of meeting the Hon'ble Raksha Mantri on 29 Sep with regard to the latest announcement on OROP.
Brig Bhagwan Singh, Air Cmde Sushil Soni, Col Raj Singla, Lt Nar Singh Dass and Capt Mangal Singh were part of my Delegation.
The exchange of pleasantries were followed by the submissions we had gone to make. Before we however got down to talk about the problems, we presented the RM with a Memento commemorating the 30th Anniversary of our Association.
To begin with we presented him with a paper about the recent award prepared by our team led by Lt Nar Singh Dass, our Gen Secy on Pensionary Matters. This dealt with what we got as a result of this announcement in real terms. (Paper follows). This was prepared with whatever little information we had. We welcome comments from all of you on what we have stated so that the entire paper can be corrected to give as true a picture as possible.
We apprised him that what has been given is no where near OROP and it all tantamounted to bureaucracy cheating us the Veterans and misleading the leadership. He agreed that what has been given is not OROP but assured that they have given this much for now. More will follow.
We then submitted that the recent Koshyari Committee had worked out the expenditure of Rs 1300.00 crores for grant of full OROP. The Cabinet Secy's Committee has not even given 25 % of what OROP signifies and has announced the sanction of Rs 2300.00 crores, almost twice the amount required for meeting this one single most important demand of OROP for the last 31 years.
With this one stroke, not only they achieved their aim of denying us our rightful dues but also conveying to the leadership how generous they are, as against our demand of Rs 1300.00, they have sanctioned 2300.00 crores. Indirectly also conveying to the leadership how ungrateful and greedy we the veterans are that an amount of Rs 2300.00 crores also does not make us feel grateful to the Gov't and satisfied. We also submitted what we feel may have been done to bloat this figure.
Bureaucracy has been misleading the leadership for over 15 years on Rank Pay which the Fourth CPC had granted and very proudly denied to the Veterans by the bureaucracy. Recently the Govt lost that case. The Hon'ble Supreme Court has directed the Govt to pay the dues amounting to Rs 1600.00 crores within three months with interest. This being the Supreme Courts final order has to be carried out. We submitted that obviously, the bureaucracy has clubbed this amount of Rs 1600.00 crores with another Rs 700,00 crores of the total amount of Rs 1300.00 crores required for OROP and made it Rs 2300.00 crores.
We then appealed to him to please have the matter investigated. Any body found guilty of misleading the leadership should be punished. We further appealed that the Gov't should also take appropriate action to find out the persons who were responsible for the sufferings of the veterans in Rank Pay case. Once they are identified they should not only be proceeded against but also made to pay the interest amount to the affected veterans. I am glad to say that The Raksha Mantri gave us a very patient hearing and we expect that the more to follow comes up fast.
Lt Col Inderjit Singh
Chairman
Related Reading
The Conspiracy against Indian Army!
Advise from Maj AK Dhanapalan- Role of the Service HQs?
Comment: It is evident that General K Sundarji (CAOS 1986 to 1988) was totally misled by his stooges in AHQ- The AG's branch shares in this conspiracy to cheat the Military- we need to identify them too.

Civil Military Relations: The pivot has become unstable

Army will Continue to Play A Pivotal Role in the Nation Building : Pallam Raju
Minister of State for Defence Dr. MM PallamRaju has said that the Army has always in the past and also in the future will continue to play a pivotal role in the nation building and for that it must emerge as a national symbol and represent the nation’s unique characteristics which is ‘Unity in Diversity’.
Delivering Field Marshal KM Cariappa Memorial Lecture on ‘Army’s Contribution to Nation Building – The Way Ahead’ here today, Dr.Raju said the military virtues of sacrifice, loyalty and discipline have always remained and must serve as objects of veneration for the rest of the nation.
Following is the text of the speech delivered by the Minister: Army will Continue to Play A Pivotal Role in the Nation Building: Pallam Raju- click here
Civil-military relations in crisis
Civilian bureaucrats, who in any case are not specialists, lack the ability to inform themselves adequately and constantly re-invent the wheel. As a result, they show a poor grasp and understanding of military matters and are unable to engage in an informed dialogue. Many members of India’s strategic community have recognised these problems and offered some sensible policy measures to enable more harmonious civil-military relations. For instance, Admiral Arun Prakash, among many others, has argued in favour of integrating bureaucracies and fostering teamwork by cross-posting civilian and military officers. Recognising the problems stemming from a generalist civil service, N.N. Vohra has advocated the creation of a civilian Ministry of Defence, or even National Security cadre. Almost all members of the strategic community have called for a more logical and mature declassification policy.
Read more: Civil-military relations in crisis by ANIT MUKHERJEE- click here

OROP: Bureaucrats mock the Military

Posted on October 12, 2012
One Rank One Pension
GOVT’S FRAUD ON EX-SERVICEMEN
By Col (Dr) PK Vasudeva (Retd)
New Delhi, Oct 12 : Ex-servicemen have reason to be angry. The Centre’s grant of Rs 2300 crore to the defence services and its claim that it has moved towards granting One Rank One Pension (OROP), as demanded has sadly proved to be a fraud. The ex-servicemen who have been agitating for OROP for over three decades had an initial sense of relief with the grandiose announcement by the Government last month that the Cabinet had approved their demand, but it was short lived.
Once the details of the decision unfolded, it came to light that the approval is nowhere close to the OROP they had been agitating for. What has been given, albeit grudgingly, does not even meet the provision of the Armed Forces Tribunal Judgements in favour of the Defence Personnel, which is effective since 01.01.2006. Till the 60s, OROP was in vogue as Military Pension, and the faujis got 65 per cent of their last pay because most had to retire in their late 40s/early 50s while civilians got 33 per cent since all served up to 58 years. The 3rd Pay Commission abolished Military Pensions, reduced it to 50 per cent, increased civil pensions to 50 per cent, and added a proviso that to earn full pension a Government servant must serve for 33 years. Thus, most military men seldom got full pension because very few could serve for 33 years, but the civil servants invariably did because they served till the age of 58, and met the criteria.
The perfidy of this rule and shabby treatment meted out to the Armed Forces is indeed unfair. The Supreme Court has already declared that pension is “delayed wages for services already rendered”. Thus, Colonel ‘A’ who retired with 24 years of service at the age of 48 years in 1989 must get the same pension as ‘B’ who retires today at the age of 50 years with 24 years of service. Why must Colonel ‘A’ need to beg when he is only seeking justice as he had to retire at a much younger age than his civilian contemporary who joined the IAS at the same time?
The civilians do not retire with only 24 years service at the age of 50 as they carry on till the age of 60. In fact, the Supreme Court recently was constrained to rebuke the Government for “treating soldiers like beggars”. Regrettably our media, which is the fourth estate and takes up issues, has not cared to highlight the military’s issues.
Indeed, the OROP story has turned out to be a cruel joke on the defence personnel by the Centre. Not for the first time, has the Union Government spread canards, to slow down the momentum of demands, and package implementation of court orders to pass off as OROP. It is a sad state of affairs when our establishment treats its people as though they belong to the other side of the border. The neglect of Armed Forces shall prove to be suicidal for the nation as the morale of the troops is low and god forbids, hostilities erupt with our neighbour. Recall that after his recent visit to J&K, Defence Minister A K Antony had apprised the Prime Minister about this low morale, following which a committee under the Cabinet Secretary was set up to address the anomalies in the defence forces pay and allowances.
However, the OROP issue that has been analysed for over seven months by members of a Committee of Parliament had an awkward situation wherein a Committee of secretaries gave evidence against its grant. Little else could be expected from it and the Prime Minister, Defence Minister and the three Chiefs were apprised of the apprehensions.
Worse, it is a great pity that the demand by three Chiefs to include members from the serving and retired defence personnel in the Committee was not accepted.
At the end, the Government not only has left 39 serious anomalies in pay & pension of defence personnel unresolved, it has also not implemented the judgements of Armed Forces Tribunal & Supreme Court given in favour of defence personnel. This apart, the recommendations of Rajya Sabha Petition Committee on OROP strongly recommending it for the defence personnel too have not been implemented.
OROP basically implies payment of uniform pension to personnel retiring in the same rank with the same length of service irrespective of their date of retirement. Consequently, any enhancement in pension rates is automatically passed on to past pensioners.
Officials said the recent package had sought to “bridge the gap” between the pensioners who retired before January 1996 and those who superannuated after that date and was “expected to largely meet the demands on OROP”. However, OROP is meant to ‘remove the gap’ rather than ‘bridge the gap’. There is thus a situation where “a sepoy, Naik and Havaldar have been given an increase of only Rs 400 per month, whereas a sepoy who retired in January 2012 draws approximately Rs 4,000 more than retirees prior to 2006”.
The Supreme Court, in its latest ruling set right another anomaly of the bureaucracy where rank pay granted by the 4th Central Pay Commission was illegally deducted from the pay of the officers of the rank of Captain to Brigadier. A large number of such officers have already died and the number may be 15000 of nearly 40,000 affected. There is all likelihood that the veterans and the next of kin of the deceased officers will be able to get this benefit.
This apart, the 6th Pay Commission gave non-functional upgradation to all the Central services (51) including the paramilitary forces, whereby every officer from these services retire in the grade of additional secretary, irrespective of vacancies. Sadly, the political and bureaucratic leadership seems to have closed its eyes when it comes to the defence services.
Well, playing games with faujis all the time can’t be a coincidence and appears to be a sinister design. It is highly de-motivating factor for the military as it makes defence services a low priority career choice, and weakens the fabric of our national security.,BR> The ex-servicemen propose not to give up their fight and expect the Government to do justice. The fraternity is all set to intensify their all-India protest from December 1, 2012 but in a dignified manner. Will the Government pay heed gracefully? — INFA
(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)
One Rank One Pension: GOVT’S FRAUD ON EX-SERVICEMEN

OROP: The viral mutates to a damp squib

80th Raising Day of IMA and OROP
MONDAY, 01 OCTOBER 2012 00:17 BRIGADIER (RETD) CS THAPA
The news regarding one-rank-one-pension first emerged on the ticker around 7.30 and by 8.30 pm it went viral, thanks to mobiles.
There is a trust deficit between the veterans and the Government and none was keen to pour out the bubbly even though a neutral press was saying so, every one wanted to see the fine print. The veterans are further divided into the haves and the have-nots, or the ‘we’ and ‘they’ between those that retired before or after the sixth pay commission. The pre-veterans refused to believe it and sure enough they were proved right the moment the fine print was out. The fiasco regarding the one-rank-one pension clearly shows the misleading tendencies both of the Government and a Press which does not verify before broadcasting -- all this shows the establishment in a poor light. This is at best a gap removal exercise -- the OROP is miles away. A jawan has got a paltry increase of four hundred rupees, is that what costs the exchequer Rs 2,300 crores? The farmers got Rs 42,000 crores from UPA-I as loan waiver and the State Government electricity boards got a waiver from UPA-I for transmission losses (means stealing electricity) and the soldier for all his sacrifices gets peanuts. All this clearly shows that the veterans have a long way to go -- as long as there is babudom, we all need to read the fine print. The Tehri area has a large number of ex-servicemen one has not heard the issue of OROP being thumped on the table by any of the Tehri Parliamentary bye poll candidates- wonder if it matters to them.
Closer home, the Indian Military Academy gets ready to celebrate its 80th Raising Day, and it’s been a long journey for the Academy. The Academy has seen a passage that has been eventful and is getting ready to be dressed for the occasion. The event is likely to be a two-day event, needless to say most of us are looking forward to a good round of golf and the celebrations the next day on October 1. Such occasions normally start with a solemn ceremony wreath laying at the war memorial in honour of those who sacrificed their today for our tomorrow, and other events such as the sound and light display in front of the Chetwode building followed by dinner. One has learnt that the CM is attending the sound and light display -- wonder how he finds the time in the middle of electioneering?
The last time one attended the sound and light display it was when my friend Raj Sujlana was the Commandant. Raj is busy now recruiting people in Punjab but the sound and light legacy that he left behind is going to be seen all over again.
Forty years ago when one passed out of the Academy it was producing officers for a victorious army. The mood was different and the Academy was the connoisseur as far as officers’ training was concerned. The Americans were licking their wounds of Vietnam andPakistan was a dismembered state. The seventies and early eighties were iconic years as far as operational thought and plains warfare in the army was concerned
Then came the rebound, by Pakistan burning the Kashmir flame and starting the strategy of death by a thousand cuts, the academy had to modify its curriculum. Counter Insurgency (CI) operations and small unit operations took center stage due to a proactive media, during that stage one was a battalion commander at IMA. The academy responded well with a CI operation capsule and other changes. Suddenly Kargil dawned and the blood and guts story of the academy was highlighted. Its tough physical training had stood the test of high altitude and high endurance, some of the bravest of the brave were just out of the academy our cadets of yesterday are national heroes of today, and the academy had delivered again.
Today in its 80th year the academy again stands at crossroads. The road ahead is difficult and full of challenges. The current requirement is of a soldier scholar whom the academy is trying to nurture and bridge the intellectual gap. There are many challenges that the academy faces, needless to say it can be a separate topic of discussion but the nature of warfare is changing and the academy has done well to take measures to address this change. It becomes difficult to make changes in established mindsets and set norms therefore; one does not grudge the commandant, but he is up to doing the needful.
There is an air of expectancy as a lot of changes have been carried out to the curriculum. The bulk of the Academy has shifted to South Campus and Gentleman Cadets go scurrying about their training. The academy still attracts good material because the academy is over subscribed and there is a marked difference in the body language of a third term GC about to pass out to that of a first termer, but language skills are definitely on the decline.
The challenges for the academy not withstanding most intend to line up our stomach with butter as we wait to see the sound and light display. I know for a fact that all events done on the drill square ground in front of the Chetwode are always nostalgic and memorable; it’s the ambience of the surrounding. No wonder how many passing out parades one may witness, the last one is always the best so also will be the sound and light display. As my wife and I walk down for dinner to the new South campus mess we always miss the old mess, it was so cramped that we met one another out of sheer lack of space.
80th Raising Day of IMA and OROP

Tatra Scam: MOD and AHQ taken for a tata ride

BEML allegedly surrendered Tatra truck manufacturing rights partially
DEVESH K. PANDEY: The Hiondu NEW DELHI, September 25, 2012
The Central Bureau of Investigation has strong reasons to suspect that Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML), through a memorandum of understanding with the Ravi Rishi-owned British company Tatra Sipox U.K., during the tenure of the suspended BEML chief V. R. S. Natarajan, allegedly partially surrendered the manufacturing rights of all-terrain Tatra trucks in 2003. The agency might now seek the opinion of the authorities concerned to verify the suspicion.
Investigations into the alleged irregularities in the supply of the trucks through BEML to the Indian Army have so far revealed that based on the 1986 and 1997 agreements with the manufacturers, BEML had gained exclusive rights to manufacture the trucks in India. However, through an MoU with Tatra Sipox U.K. in February 2003, it is alleged that the manufacturing rights were partially surrendered by excluding the axle part of the truck.
The CBI probe has revealed that the public sector unit had in 1986 entered into an agreement with Tatra of the erstwhile Czechoslovakia for supply of Tatra T815 trucks. Simultaneously, under the agreement, documents on technological know-how pertaining to the manufacturing of the trucks were also bought for Rs. three crore. It was agreed that BEML would progressively indigenise the trucks and the target was fixed at 85 per cent indigenisation by 1991.
However, when Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993, the manufacturing company also split into two. While the one manufacturing 70 per cent of the product was renamed as Tatra AS, the other was called Vab Sipox. According to agency sources, investigations revealed that Vab Sipox was gradually privatised and 80 per cent of the company was taken over by Josef Majsky, who allegedly had prior business links with Ravi Rishi.
During the turbulent phase, the supply of trucks was hit, and subsequently Ravi Rishi’s Venus Projects bagged one order of 100 trucks from BEML. It is alleged that Venus was awarded the contract despite the fact that it was neither a manufacturer nor its subsidiary, but a marketing company. In 1994, CBI probe revealed that Venus and Tatra Sipox allegedly came together to set up Tatra Sipox U.K. through a 50-50 partnership. Later, the company was allegedly taken over by Mr. Rishi.
The Slovak-based company, which earlier manufactured the truck axle and backbone tube part, during the correspondences with BEML, allegedly started exerting that BEML could not manufacture the axle as it was a patented product and thus had to be imported.
The agency has found that the agreement for supply of the truck components that was renewed in 1997 reinforced the exclusive manufacturing rights of BEML in India. Also, it allegedly mentioned that the technological know-how documents had been transferred to BEML.
However, soon after Mr. Natarajan took over as BEML chief, the PSU entered into an MoU with Tatra Sipox U.K. allegedly excluding the rights to manufacture the truck axle, thus partially surrendering the manufacturing rights. “The BEML was supposed to import only the components and manufacture the trucks on its own,” said a CBI source.
Investigations have also revealed that BEML had also developed a prototype of the Tatra truck axle, but it was not allowed to further develop it and was allegedly forced to import the axle, causing huge losses to the exchequer. Interestingly, agency sources said the then Secretary Defence Production had then raised objections asking cancellation of the 2003 MoU. However, the objections were ignored.
On the issue of the alleged surrendering of manufacturing rights, BEML Chief of Public Relations B. S. Sridhar said over the phone that he did not know anything about it. Several attempts to contact Mr. Natarajan also did not elicit any response.
BEML allegedly surrendered Tatra truck manufacturing rights partially
Hindu Readers Comments

How could a scam of this magnitude remain hidden from scrutiny for so long? What were the Vigilance Officers at BEML and the CVC doing? To me it seems almost impossible that a scam of this magnitude could have remained unknown for so long without the knowledge politicians at the highest levels. Will any of these politicians be brought to justice at any time? from: krishna Posted on: Sep 25, 2012 at 02:06 IST

Such negligence is very common in technology driven PSUs of defence ministry.Removing the cover of OFFICIAL SECRETS ACT can bring the can of worms in the open.It is really a criminal wastage of public money and scarce resources of our poor nation without the knowledge of tax paying public. from: Atis Posted on: Sep 25, 2012 at 09:52 IST

In a criminal case it is in the chargesheet that must do the talking. All these reports are nothing better than idle talk. A waste of time and space. from: Hilary Pais Posted on: Sep 25, 2012 at 10:05 IST

Rank Pay: Insult over Injury

Insult over Injury
In 1986, my responsibilities to my family were beginning to peak and I was looking forward to the Pay Commission. But some nasty chaps in the Government, by a sleight of hand, denied me 1/5th of my basic pay, Rs1000/- to be precise - a lot of money those days!
I was not even aware of this treachery as I trusted the Government. Maj AK Dhanapalan saw through it (God bless him). He first, and then others, Retired Defence Officers Association (RDOA) in the forefront, fought in Courts, long and steadfast, with their money and the Government fought back, with our money, with resilience and determination, appealing perpetually against court verdicts, to do down the fellows who are all up to save them.
The Apex Court finally directed to pay all those affected, the arrears with 6% interest from 01 Jan 1986 onwards. The Government pleaded that it is poor (it has to be, after all these scams) and the Court waived off interest for the first 20 years!
It is not possible to compensate for the lost opportunities of our families but payment of the interest would, at least, have been a token recognition of the wrongs done to us, some compensation for our deprivations and humiliations, particularly when it was not due to a mistake. It was not even mere mischief. It was treachery, born out of arrogance and assurance of impunity. The very least that should have been done was to treat the amount due as a recurring deposit, the maturity amount reinvested at Postal rates, periodically. Therefore, the Court was benevolent to impose only 6% of interest to start with, but the crocodile tears of the Government made it deprived us, the victims, 20 years (no less!) of the already low interest!
Further, the initiating culprit should have been ordered to be identified and he, along with all the superiors who dealt with and finalized ‘the stab in the back’ to the people who protect the Country (them included) at the cost of their lives, to be punished.
What sort of justice is this? The perpetrators of the crime and their protectors not only go scot free but also evoke sympathy of the court! We, the sufferers, having waited for decades, are now left down in the ditch. All those criminals must be caught, their pay or pensions should be forfeited and if necessary their properties should be confiscated to pay us, the fair amount.
But that is ‘day dreaming’ or is it ‘crying in the wilderness’? What can you expect from this bunch? Now, if I cheat the Government and get caught, I should be able to plead for reduction in payment, of at least the penalty amount, as paying that much money would hurt me terribly. A precedent has been set. Applicability should be universal.
Col BN Ratha(Retd)

Armed Forces win Battle in Supreme Court: Reactions

Ref: Rank Pay- AF win battle in Supreme Court
Comments

Baba Tiruvalam 1 week ago
While one is happy that the finally justice has been given to the serving and retired officers, it is sad that some people had to wait for over 25 years to get this justice. It is pertinent to point out that in the meantime many who were waiting passed away and were cheated out of their legitimate dues. It was not any thing to do with legal interpretation. It was mere arithmetic interpretation. Even if a mistake was committed at some level in 1987 when this was being implemented, why was the Govt reluctant to correct the mistake when it was pointed out during Maj Dhanapalan's case until relief was given to him by Kerala High Court initially and then the Supreme Court subsequently when the Govt appealed against the decision of the Kerala High Court. Subsequently also they had resisted extending the benefit to similarly affected officers. It took 5 long years and several hearings at the Supreme Court to reach the verdict given today. All along the Govt machinery including the MOD and the Law ministry did not see the wisdom in withdrawing their appeal gracefully. At-least now will the Government show graceful acceptance of the verdict and pay the arrears as ordered before some more of the affected officers kick the bucket?

The Patriot
It is unfortunate that in a democracy like ours the armed forces are being treated like this. They remain the last and only institution left that the nation can depend on in a crisis. The recent happenings in the Army are a clear indication that all is not well with the armed forces too. One wishes that the babus and politicos keep off the armed forces. The recent amendment to the constitution giving reservation in promotions is a further blow to the very secular foundation of this country, just imagine babus promoted thus exercising control over the armed forces, like they say-vinasha kale , viperetha budhi!

freudneo1 week ago
To grant a benefit of just 1500 crores to its armed forces... govt fights for 20 years ! n themselves siphons off thousands of crores in just two years ! Wow... what a democracy we are living in!

Bidyut Chatterjee
The Judgement did make us happy,but we would be happier still, if the bureaucracy and the lower babus were penalised for feeding the Courts with wrong and misinformation. 50% of their pay and allowances should have been deducted to compensate for the delayed justice which was only because of them. This would partly meet the cost involved to implement the Judgement.
Armed Forces win long outstanding battle inSupreme Court

Rank Pay: Landmark Judgement exposes MOD's immodesty

Unhelpful attitude against military
Tuesday, September 18, 2012, Chandigarh, India
Apex court comes to the aid of defence personnel
by Lt-Gen Harwant Singh (retd)
ON September 4, 2012 the Supreme Court gave a landmark judgment, which goes against the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The 4th Central Pay Commission (CPC) gave defence services’ officers up to the rank of brigadier rank pay in addition to the basic pay. The MoD, working in consultation with the CDA (O) and in a most arbitrary manner and without any authority, deducted the rank pay from the emoluments of thousands of the effected officers. That was in the year 1986. From then onwards all efforts to get the MoD to undo this gross injustice have been opposed by it. In this machination and subsequent cussedness have been involved the top bureaucrats in the MoD and successive Defence Ministers. From 1986 till now, a large number of defence services’ officers have died, some during the Kargil war, without getting their rightful dues.
A gutsy Major from the South fought it out in the Kerala High Court. Not willing to relent on its mischief, the MoD went in for a review petition, which too was rejected by the Supreme Court. It took the officer over a decade to get this injustice undone. This was followed by innumerable appeals in most high courts of the country by the officers who had been denied their rank pay. The Supreme Court in its wisdom ordered that all these be clubbed and brought before it. A spirited group called the Retired Defence Officers Association (RODA) obtained a favourable order from the Supreme Court on March 8, 2010. Thereafter, the MoD sought recall of the Supreme Court order. Then on subsequent 10 occasions the Solicitor-General of India sought adjournments, stretching the case to September 2012.
The Solicitor-General told the highest court of the land that the defence services headquarters too were opposed to giving back the rank pay to these officers. However, the defence headquarters gave in writing to the Attorney-General that they did not oppose the grant of rank pay and, on the other hand, fully supported the case of these officers. This letter from the defence headquarters falsified the position of the Solicitor-General and, in fact, he stands exposed for an act of perjury. Consequently, the MoD, throwing all norms of fair play to the winds and in a brazen manner, tried to “arm-twist” the defence services headquarters in asking it to withdraw this letter to the Solicitor-General, which the defence services headquaters declined to do.
The Solicitor-General, as a last ditch attempt, pleaded that the restoration of rank pay be ordered to only those officers whose cases are before the court. Ignoring this mischievous plea, the Supreme Court, on September 4, 2012, ordered that all the effected officers (their number is in thousands) should be paid their dues starting from 1986 to now and taking a lenient view of the MoD’s plea of financial constraints made by the Solicitor-General, reduced the period of interest, which starts from 2006 instead of 1986, and at 6 per cent interest.
The Fifth CPC took away the “running pay band,” which, on the hints of resignation by the three service chiefs, was granted by the Fourth CPC and was introduced to somewhat compensate for extremely limited promotions. In the case of the Sixth CPC, there are 39 anomalies that are still to be resolved. The grant of bounty of Non-Functional Advancement to all Central services officers by the Sixth CPC and denying the same to the defence services officers is not only scandalous but also blatant display of bias against them.
Instead of extending a supporting hand to the defence services, the MoD has in almost every case related to pay and allowances and the status of defence personnel been taking an adversial stance. In the case of the Second Central Pay Commission, (CPC), the MoD fielded the case of pay and allowances of defence personnel “as given”. In the case of the Third CPC, the defence services were not permitted to present their case before the Pay Commission on the specious grounds that the same will adversely effect their discipline! While the absurdity of this stance by the MoD is detestable, the fact that this arrangement was accepted by the services chiefs is equally distressing. In the subsequent CPCs, the defence services could get no support from the MoD and on the other hand its despicable act of illegally depriving the officers of their rank pay in the case of the fourth CPC needs no further elaboration.
The MoD’s stance has always been unhelpful to the military. Such a sustained attitude of the MoD has created deep fissures in its relationship with the military. There is palpable mistrust of the ministry among the armed forces. The adverse fallout of this relationship, at one level, relates to national security, and at another it impacts on the military’s commitment and motivation. The Ministry of Home Affairs fights tooth and nail to promote the interests of, say, the Central Police Organizations ( CPOs-inappropriately called para-military). As opposed to this, the MoD operates in a motivated manner against those of the military. This adversial stance of the MoD has become so visible in that the CPOs, in pay and allowances, are far better placed than the military. These policemen, unlike soldiers who retire at 35 years of age, retire at the age of 60 and further end up getting much higher pension, etc.
This attitude of the MoD towards the defence services has created a climate of mistrust, animosity and disharmony between these two major components of the government. This hiatus has had adverse effect on the pace of modernisation of the military as well.
The Supreme Court judgment of September 4, ordering the government to pay up the amount due to the affected officers starting with 1986, needs to be taken to its logical end by bringing to account all those officers who were responsible for this mischief, including those who have since retired, and ones who have continued to follow the same line. It is time some accountability was jacked into the government functioning, and those who function in an arbitrary and irresponsible manner are hauled over the coals
. The writer is a retired Deputy Chief of Army Staff.
Unhelpful attitude against military

Army Pay Scales: Genesis of the continuing Downgrade

Sixth CPC Report:(vii) Army Pay Scales (1)
Chapter 2.3 of the Report briefly recaptures the historical developments in reference to determination of pay structure for the Armed Forces, starting from constitution of the Post War Pay Committee in 1947 which for the first time attempted to establish relative parameters in reference to Indian Police Service (IPS) and the Central Class I Services but also brought down the pay scales of many Indian Commissioned Officers. The Government subsequently modified pay structure for Armed Forces in 1960 when the Raghuramaiya Committee endorssed the concept of parity with the above referred services as conceived earlier.
The pay structure for Army was for the first time referred to Central Pay Commission (CPC) at the time of Third CPC which recommended merger of the Special Disturbance Allowance (being paid to army personnel since 1950 as a temporary compensatory measure) with the pay, there by making the pay structure for Army slightly better than civilian pay scales. The Fourth CPC accepted the demand for running pay bands and rank pay up to the scale of Brigadier, but the structure was subsequently realtered by Fifth CPC which gave scales on pattern of civilian establishment to the Armed Forces with a slight edge due to difficult working conditions. The recommendations of Fifth CPC which form the basis for existing pay structure are reflected below.

The Sixth CPC has recmmended restoration of Running Pay Bands on the ground that similar structure is now recommended for Civil Services and the possibility of disparity on that account is ruled out. Another important benefit is that this measure would facilitate smoother absorption of ths Short Service Commission Officers (SSCOs) and Personnel below Officer’ Ranks (PBORs) in Central Paramilitary Forces (CPMFs) by identification of analogous posts in the two structures (eg Major and Deputy Commandant in Army and CRPF). It has however added a new component to the salary of armymen under the title of Military Service Pay(MSP) which would be admissible to all ranks upto Brigadier.
The Commission foresees that the MSP shall ensure that the edge enjoyed by the army pay structure vis a vis the pay scales for civilian employees continues. MSP shall be counted as pay for all practical purposes. Although MSP shall not be admissible beyond the rank of Brigadier yet the edge provided by MSP shall continue at subsequent stages since it would be embedded in the pay at subsequent fitment stage. However for purposes of determination of comparative seniority the indicator shall be the grade pay. MSP being a new addition to pay, arrears would not be payable for the past. The Pay Structure as recommended by Sixth CPC is as follows.

Some other major recommendations relate to upgradtion of Scale of pay admissible to Director General of Armed Forces Medical Service to Rs.80000/-(fixed) and the decision to allow the non functional scale of Army Commander to Lt. Generals who do not get the post due to age bar. Similar benefit has been recommended for ofiicers of other ranks who are similarily deprived of promotion due to shortage of tenure. Commsision has however not agreed to increase the scales for Principal Staff Officers posted at Army HQs on the ground that this would affect the relativity with Corps Commanders operating in the field.
Commission has also recommended continuation of existing higher entry grade pay to Lieutant in Army Medical Corps (AMC) as compared to Lieutant in the Army. Higher pay to the extent of 7.5% for Lieutant and 10% for the Captain has been recommened. Regarding Military Nursing Services (MNS) the recommendation is for maintainig parity with the Service cadre Officers. Extension of time bound promotion scheme upto level of Lt. Col. has been recommended for the Officers of MNS and MSP to the extent of Rs.4200/- has also been recommended alongwith benefit of one pay fixation increment at the stage of promotion .The Pay Scales recommended for MNS are given below.

Sixth CPC Report:(vii) Army Pay Scales (1)
Related Reading: Pay scales of the Indian Armed Forces: Click here
Comment: In spite of the slide down of Military Pay Scales, why has the Rank Pay been denied for the last 26 years? This may require a detailed analysis to fix responsibility. The COAS from 1986 till 2008 are equally responsible. Military is apolitical does this mean they are dummies and should kowtow the corrupt system? The seniors on whom one reposes faith are the ones who let down the organisation for their own perks and salaries- own selfish interest. The AHQ is filled with such scumbags- imagine the Army Chief being posted in AHQ for the 12th time! His interests ly elsewhere not welfare of troops. Damn Chetwode Motto!

Supreme Court Order on Rank Pay

Dear Veterans,
The gist of the Supreme Court Order issued on 04 Sep 12, regarding Rank Pay Case of Retired Defence Officers is reproduced below.
Those of you are keen to read the whole order may visit the URL Click here
Thank you
Chander Kamboj

O R D E R
I. A. No. 9 in T.P. (C) No. 56 of 2007:
We have heard Mr. R.F. Nariman, learned Solicitor General of India and Mr. Mahabir Singh, learned senior counsel for the respondents.
2. On thoughtful consideration of the entire matter, we are satisfied that the order dated March 8, 2010 does not require any modification or variation save and except the interest part.
3. As regards interest, on totality of the circumstances including the circumstance that Special Leave Petition arising from the judgment dated July 4, 2003 in the matter of Major A.K. Dhanapalan was dismissed by this Court in August, 2005 and the Kerala High Court had not ordered payment of interest on the arrears of pay, we direct that the interest shall be paid by the petitioners to the respondent @ 6% p.a. from January 1, 2006 instead of January 1, 1986. It is clarified that this order shall govern all similarly situated officers who have not approached the court and also those who have filed Writ Petitions which are pending before various High Courts/Armed Forces Tribunal.
4. We record and accept the statement of the learned Solicitor General that arrears of pay with interest, as directed above, shall be paid to the concerned officers expeditiously and positively within twelve week from today.
5. I.A. No. 9 of 2010 stands disposed of accordingly.
W.P. (C) Nos. 268/2010, 192/2012, and I.A. No. 1 of 2011 in W.P. (C) 34/2009 and T.C. (C) Nos. 11/2010, 14-19/2010, 31/2010, 32/2010, 33/2010 and 35/2010:
The above matters and pending I.As. therein, if any, stand disposed of in terms of the above order passed in I.A. No. 9 of 2010 in T.P. (C) No. 56 of 2007.

.....................J.
(R.M. LODHA)

.....................J
(T.S. THAKUR)

.....................J.
(ANIL R. DAVE)
Supreme Court Order on Rank Pay

Veteran Welfare Neglected Issues

Dear Veterans,
In the resent past major veteran issues have come up in the blogs concerning the Armed Forces Personnel and the Veterans.
A few of them are:
1 Non Functional Up gradation (NFU) to officers.
2. Amending the Pension Regulations of the Armed Forces.
3. Non Implementation of Judgments of AFTs (aboutg 2000).
4. Payment of 100% pension to the Veterans up to the age of 60 years (age for superannuation for central Govt employees) and payment of OROP.
5. Separate Ministry or a Defense Board (like that of Railway) for Armed Forces Personnel.
6. Cadre Review (being done every 5 years in other Departments).
7. Abnormal Difference of pension between two immediate Ranks to the tune of Rs.11,000/-PM
8. Withdrawal of existing Rank Pay by 6th CPC (replacing with grade pay to give additional emoluments to civilian employees and also to create an equation of imbalance between civ and Military.)
9. Majors with more than 15 years of service equated with cadets and Hony Lt's (PB-3).
10. A meaningful resettlement of Armed Forces Veterans.
11. Dignity (Izzath) of the personnel in uniform/ Protocol/ precedence vis a vis the civilian counterparts.
The above are some of the major issues that are being reflected in emails and blogs nowadays. The blame is palmed on to the babus of MOD and the Politicians. But one must think honestly - Are they fully responsible for these omissions. What is the role of the Service HQs?
click here for more

Army HQ restructuring gets under way

February 14, 2012 11:41 IST
The two Deputy Chiefs of Army Staff have been given new responsibilities to lessen the burden of the Vice Chief of the Army Staff, the general who runs the 1.3 million-strong Indian Army [ Images ] on a day-to-day basis, reports Nitin Gokhale.

Amid the unfortunate controversy over the current Chief of the Army Staff, General V K Singh's age issue, the restructuring process at army headquarters under the new transformation plan has quietly begun to roll out at South Block.

Under the new plan, the two Deputy Chiefs of Army Staff (DCOAS) have been given new and specific responsibilities to lessen the burden of the Vice Chief of the Army Staff (VCOAS), the general who virtually runs the 1.3 million-strong Indian Army on a day-to-day basis.

The implementation of the first phase of this transformation has gathered speed with the appointment of Lieutenant General Ramesh Halgali as the new Deputy Chief of the Army Staff (Information Systems & Training) on Monday.

The other Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Policy and Services), Lieutenant General Narinder Singh had taken over late last year.

Although Army HQ has had two deputy chiefs looking after various functions for some years, a new and clear demarcation of responsibilities entrusted to them is aimed at streamlining the functioning and speed up decision-making processes at the apex level.

So while Lieutenant General Halgali will be responsible for Military Training, Signals (communication), Information Systems (automation), Staff duties (UN Missions etc), Rashtriya Rifles, Territorial Army and Defence Service Corps (the security guards at select military installations and campuses), Lieutenant General Narinder Singh will look after Procurement, Financial Planning, Perspective Planning and various 'line' directorates like Armoured Corps, Artillery, Mech Infantry etc.

This arrangement is designed to somewhat ease the burden on the Vice Chief of the Army Staff, Lieutenant General S K Singh.

The Vice Chief of Army Staff has to not only give crucial decisions relating to day-today operational matters, but has to also liaise with the defence ministry and attend several high-level meetings with other functionaries from different ministries.

The streamlined hierarchy is likely to give little more time and space for the Vice Chief of Army Staff to function more efficiently.

In the Indian system, the Chief of Army Staff has traditionally been giving broad policy direction for others to implement his ideas and concepts.

Lieutenant General Halgali, who came into the limelight after he blew the whistle on the Sukna land issue when he was Chief of Staff at HQ 33 Corps as a major general, was scheduled to take over as Deputy Chief last November, but an adverse administrative remark on his record during the Sukna issue delayed his taking over the post by three months.

Lieutenant General Halgali was Director General, Military Training before taking over as Deputy Chief on Monday.

As Chief of Staff at 33 Corps HQ in North Bengal, he had resisted attempts by then Corps Commander Lieutenant General P K Rath and then Military Secretary Lieutenant General Avadesh Prakash to issue a no-objection certificate for a transferring a piece of land adjacent to the Corps HQ to a business consortium for establishing a branch of the famous Mayo College.

Both Lieutenant General Rath and Lieutenant General Prakash have been indicted in the case by an army court martial. Lieutenant General Halgali had initially received an administrative rap for not reporting the matter expeditiously, but has now been cleared of all charges since it later emerged that he had prevented the attempt by his seniors to allow the group of businessman and the two generals to take advantage of loopholes in the system.

As Deputy Chief, Lieutenant General Halgali will be in office for nearly a year and three months to take forward the process of transformation both at the Army HQ level and down the line.

Conceptualised in 2010 after a two-year study by a group of top generals under the current army chief, General V K Singh when he was the Eastern Army commander, the transformation aims to turn the lumbering Indian Army into 'an agile, lethal, versatile and networked force, which is capability-based to meet future challenges.'

In a couple of interviews with me, General V K Singh has said the transformation must be 360 degrees and 'enhance operational capability through reorganisation, restructuring, force development and relocation.'

The concept is based on 13 transformation studies. These range from ways to consolidate strike capabilities and 'flatten' HQs, to 'synergising' all resources. Some of the Indian Army's new transformative concepts are already being 'test-bedded.'
Nitin Gokhale is the Defence Editor, NDTV.
Army HQ restructuring gets under way

Self Defeating Indian Military Manipulates to Degrade Rank and Honour

Indian Army Manipulations Exposed
The question whether it is always the civilian establishment which denies us our dues. The following examples prove contrary.

Grant of higher scale to Lt Gens after the 5th CPC: The 5th CPC saw degradation of Lt Gens by way of placing them below DGPs from the IPS. A case was taken up for the rectification of the anomaly and the Services were offered on a platter that 1/3rd Lt Gens (other than Army Commanders who were already in a higher bracket) could be upgraded. It was refused by us and our stand was- give us 100% or give us none. Now this had far reaching consequences which are there for all to see even today. Rather than taking the offer and then fighting for rest of Lt Gens, we refused it altogether as a result of which all Lt Gens remained lower in pay than DGPs and were again placed in a lower grade (HAG) than DGPs (HAG+) in the 6th CPC. And then post 6th CPC, after much hankering we accepted the proposal of upgradation of 1/3rd Lt Gens to HAG+. The position would have been much better had we accepted 1/3rd after the 5th CPC and a higher figure after the 6th CPC. Who was to blame?, Not the MoD!

Grant of Pay Band-4 to Lt Cols after the 6th CPC: I haven’t stated this openly before, but the greatest resistance for grant of Pay Band-4 to Lt Cols came from within the Army, but the same was thankfully off-set by a stellar performance by the Air Force and Navy. The objection of the Army was that there would remain no incentive for higher ranks if this were to be accepted. A banal argument in light of the fact that we were ready to face a steep degradation in status and pay vis-à-vis civilian counterparts to ensure an imaginary incentive for higher ranks!.

Higher Grade Pay for Colonel vis-à-vis the rank of DIG: The pay scale of DIG was traditionally placed between the scales of Lt Col and full Col. After the 6th CPC, DIG was placed in a Grade Pay equivalent to a Brig. Despite forceful attempts by the Pay Commission Cells of the three services, the ultimate proposal forwarded to the Govt by the Services contained a demand of a Grade Pay of 8800 for a full Col and acceptance of 8900 for a Brig, thereby tacitly agreeing an inferior role for a Col and equation of a Brig (28 years’ service) with a DIG with 14 years’ of service. We did not seek for Colonel a GP higher than DIG and on the contrary sought a lower GP. If we do not even demand, why would they give?

Non-functional financial upgradation: In the organised Group A Services, after the 6th CPC, all officers are now entitled to non-functional financial upgradation till the scale of HAG (equal to Lt Gen) in case they are not promoted in the ordinary course. Hence, innocuously, unknown to our top brass, almost all civil officers irrespective of actual rank or grade, including those of the MES, are retiring with the pay and pension of Lt Gen while we continue fighting on mundane issues and wasting our energies and intelligence debating on the colour of the curtain in the VIP room (Ganga ???) in the Alpha Mess. There has been a silent takeover by the HAG on the civil side without much fanfare. When this matter was raised by the Air Force and Navy at a time when the Govt was willing to listen, it was shot down by the Army component. Realising the joke that we had played upon ourselves by not processing the proposal when it could see the light of the day, we took it up again, but this time it was rejected by the MoD. So whom do we blame ?

Grant of DACP to military medicos :- When the Govt had approved the Dynamic Assured Career Progression scheme for all doctors under the central govt, there was resistance from our very own PPOC (emanating again from the Army) that this would lead to higher pay to doctors than other officers. It was also foolishly pointed out that military doctors were in receipt of the Military Service Pay also and hence did not deserve DACP. Rather than helping our very own doctors in reaping benefits announced by the govt, we resisted such benefits. On the contrary, we should have smoothly allowed the scheme to be implemented and then could have asked for rectification of other anomalies affecting other personnel. A similar inane bogey was raised in the earlier part of the last century when the Central Govt had introduced Non-Practicing Allowance (NPA) for all doctors. This had led to a protest by the Army HQ that if implemented, the doctors would start getting more emoluments than other Arms and Services. A pity, isn’t it ?

Non-grant of AV Report benefits to SSCOs commissioned prior to 2006 :- When the AV Singh Committee report was implemented, it was implemented for all officers serving in the Army as on 16 December 2004. Later however, our very own MS Branch discovered a ‘ghundi’ and observed that the said benefits could not be granted to SSCOs and WSES officers. When later the SSC scheme was tweaked in 2006 and the terms of engagement were changed from 5+5+4 to 10+4 years, the AV benefits were granted to all those who were commissioned under the said scheme or to those who had opted for the new terms. As a result of this, Male SSCOs commissioned prior to 2006 who are in old terms, including those who were in service in December 2004, are being promoted as quasi-substantive Captains on completing 9 years of service and are retiring in the substantive rank of Lieut even after serving for 14 years while their SSCO counterparts commissioned after 2006 are being promoted as Capt in 2 years, Maj in 6 years and Lt Col in 13 years. Similarly, WSES officers under the old terms are being promoted as Capt after 5 years and are not eligible for any substantive promotion after Capt. When there was hue and cry on the subject, our PS Directorate did take up the issue for rectification but recommended that SSCOs commissioned under the old terms should be made Capt in 5 years rather than the current 9 years !. So there you have it, we are not even magnanimous in demanding our rights. Rather than simply seeking that all officers who were in service in December 2004 or who joined thereafter should be promoted to Capt, Maj and Lt Col in 2, 6 and 13 years as per the universally applicable promotion scheme, we ourselves have been misers in demanding what should have logically flown to us without impediment. So who shall give if we do not even demand ?

Placing senior officers on appointments tenable by junior civilians :- Sample this – while we continue placing Lt Cols and Time Scale Colonels as GEs, the civilian establishment sends only officers with GP 6600 or max 7600 on these appointments. On one hand we theoretically claim that a Superintending Engineer is equal to a Lt Col, while on the other we continue sending Lt Cols and Cols on appointments tenable by even Executive Engineers. We send senior Majors from the SL cadre as AGEs which is an appointment held by Subedar equivalent GP 4600 (Group B) and Lieut equivalent GP 5400 officers from the civil side. We have been posting Majors as BSOs which is an appointment tenable by Group B Officers in GP 4600 who are 4 steps junior. And this is our own doing and cadre management, and then we blame the civilians for degradation of status! Brace yourself for the 7th CPC.
Posted by Navdeep / Maj Navdeep Singh
Indian Military Masters of Self Defeat: Click here to read more
Comment: Kudos to Maj Navdeep who has delineated the MOD and AHQ- which are literally run by a bunch of self serving stereo stylists sans sensibilities!

General VK Singh’s age controversy: Army contradicts ministry

Date : Sep 16th, 2011 New Delhi: The controversy over Army chief General VK Singh’s age has deepened with the Defense Ministry and the Indian Army holding on to their positions.

General Singh has consistently maintained that he was born in 1951 as against 1950 as maintained by the Ministry of Defense. Army records however reflect both dates. General Singh has also filed a formal complaint with the ministry saying that while the government can decide his tenure as chief of Army, his year of birth cannot be changed.

The biggest implication of this is the year in which the Army chief will retire – 2012, according to the government’s decision. If it had accepted General Singh’s date of birth, his tenure would have extended to 2013.

Earlier this month, Defence Minister A K Antony had told the Rajya Sabha, “The date of birth of General VK Singh, Chief of Army Staff, has been maintained as 10th May 1950 at the time of his selection as Corps Commander (Lieutenant General) in 2006 as well as his subsequent promotions as Army Commander in 2008 and Chief of the Army Staff in 2010″

But the Military Secretary’s branch in the Army Headquarters, that handles promotions and transfers, has contradicted the ministry. Military Secretary Lieutenant General GM Nair has informed the ministry that General VK Singh’s promotion from the rank of a Brigadier in 1996 to that of a Lieutenant General in 2005 had May 10, 1951 as the date of birth.
General VK Singh’s age controversy: Army contradicts ministry
Related Reading
Army chief readies for legal battle with ministry

MoD Style- Blame Game to Cheat Veterans

Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Blame Game : MoD style !
“We believe to err is human. To blame it on someone else is politics" : Hubert H Humphrey
The MoD is unfairly and unnecessarily blaming the Services for non-implementation of Court orders.
People who are familiar with the field of litigation in the defence services would be aware of the fact that most of the cases decided in favour of pensioners, especially disabled personnel, are not implemented in a timely manner and majority of decisions of Courts and Tribunals are implemented only after contempt petitions are filed by affected parties. Even the judgements that are implemented are done so in a reluctant manner with the feeling in the South Block being that the policies framed by the MoD are sacrosanct and that every decision against the thought-process of the MoD should be challenged in a higher Court of Law. Fair enough, since the Constitutional framework provides a right to appeal to every party to a case. But this assumes dangerous proportions when even verdict after verdict on a particular issue, including by the highest Court of the land, the MoD continues to file appeals in similar matters thereby burdening the pockets of veterans and dockets of Courts. This is done with one singular motive – that out of the many appeals filed, even if one succeeds, the MoD would be able to scuttle the move for a change in policy for the better. And this is done being fully aware that veterans cannot afford legal help, especially at Supreme Court level, and hence it is not surprising that in most of the cases where decisions were ultimately rendered in favour of the MoD the affected parties were either unrepresented or were appearing in person, the reason being common – inability to afford counsel fee.

The powers to implement Court orders have been delegated to the Services HQ. It was earlier felt that due to lack of proper understanding, the Services HQ were blindly following the dictates of the MoD, especially in pensionary matters, and recommending appeals even in settled issues and further making no moves to reduce litigation or to bring about changes in policies that had persistently faced flak from the Courts. But this changed in the recent few years when the AG’s branch and the Personnel Services Directorate truly started taking proper interest in these matters with actual application of mind resulting in some proactive policy decisions and also putting it on record that certain imbalanced policies of the MoD which were resulting in a major flux of litigation, required a re-look. It was also now clear that even in certain issues where the Services HQ were of the view that appeals were not required to be filed, the MoD still insisted on challenging the verdicts but publicly projecting that it were the Services which were going about filing appeals against their own pensioners and not the MoD since the powers to implement decisions were vested with the Services HQ. In fact, it was more than once communicated by the MoD on hard paper that they were not the ones filing appeals, but the Services HQ. This statement was, and remains, a sham. It appears that despite best efforts by all stake-holders, the perception in the corridors of the MoD, especially, the Pension Wing, is, that veterans are greedy and do not deserve more than what they are already getting. The efforts of the Services HQ to bring about a change in policy meet the waste-bin in ways more than one.

And now comes another hard to believe master-stroke. Now the MoD has blamed the Services for delay in implementation of orders by Benches of the AFT. It has also been stated before the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Defence that about 303 decisions are yet to be implemented due to the delay caused by the hierarchical structure of the services. The excuse is hogwash and so is the number since there must be well over 2000 decisions as on date which have not been implemented. 303 is a very mild figure and at best depicts an antiquated bolt action gun.

Hence in the ultimate analysis, when the public questions the MoD over appeals being filed against veterans and the disabled, it (the MoD) very conveniently blames the Services leaving the Services HQ at the mercy of public flak and ridicule, and when a Parliamentary committee questions the non-implementation of Court orders, again the Services are blamed for the delay when the actual culprit is the sadist attitude of those manning certain lower level appointments in the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare in the MoD.

The policy making mechanism at the Pension wing is leading to frustration and a sense of great disservice. In-principle decisions taken at the highest level are scuttled by lower staff by misleading file notings. Policy decisions take years to materialise, for example, certain anomalies of the 5th CPC are being resolved 15 years after the date of implementation of the 5th CPC. Rather than taking decisions at the govt level, files are sent to the offices of CGDA and PCDA(P) for drafting govt letters and seeking their opinions, whereas accountants have actually nothing to do with the process of decision making, their duty is to disburse payments based on govt policy and not make the policy itself. Rather than rectifying anomalous policies, appeals to the SC are made as a matter of routine, to take an example, the SC has in atleast 10 cases settled the issue of grant of service element to pre-1973 retirees irrespective of length of service even if the disability falls below 20%, but the MoD continues to file appeals in similar cases and at this particular moment, more than 50 appeals are pending on the subject filed by the MoD against disabled veterans, most of them over the age of 70 notwithstanding 10 verdicts in favour of veterans. In cases of disability pension, till the 5th CPC, the amount for disability element for say 20% disability was Rs 310/- per month and even in such cases appeals were filed as a matter of routine when disability pension was allowed by Courts wherein lacs of rupees were paid to the battery of counsel representing the MoD, the great MoD which has scant respect for the National Litigation Policy formulated by the Union of India, that great MoD which treats its disabled as its adversaries, that MoD which feels that pensioners are a greedy lot, that MoD which would wrongly blame the Army, Navy and the Air Force fully knowing the sleight of hand at play, that MoD whose staffers believe that they are better jurists than the Courts rendering verdicts in favour of pensioners and the proof of this attitude lies in the fact that the MoD has filed a review petition in every single case decided by the Supreme Court in favour of pensioners in the recent times.
Solution

Solution No 1

The top brass at the MoD including the RM, the RRM and the Secretary of the Department of ESW, starts taking proper interest in the affairs of veterans by way of initiating democratic decisions by involving all stake holders – the ESW staff, the Services, representatives of recognised veteran bodies with experts in the field. Look at the current lot dealing with the issues involving millions of veterans – An otherwise well meaning Secretary from the IAS who is retiring soon, a Joint Secretary from the Assam-Meghalaya cadre of the IAS who is currently on training and whose tenure under the Central Staffing Scheme ends this year, a Director (Pensions) who is from the Indian Forest Service and knows nothing about pensions and who would soon revert to his parent cadre, two Under Secretaries from the Central Secretariat Service (CSS) who again have no expertise in pensionary matters and who probably rule the roost of the pension branch, knowing that the department is entirely dependent on them, in all probability assuming more air of authority than what their so-called proficiency really warrants.

Solution No 2

Disband the Army. Period.
Posted by Navdeep / Maj Navdeep Singh

Enhanced Pension for Majors and Equivalents with over 20 years service

Major with 21 yrs service Pension of Time Scale Lt Col Para 5 (a) (iv) of Special Army Instruction (SAI) 2/S/98
Dear Kamboj Sir,
The SAI/2/S/98 was issued and officers of the Rank of Major who had 21 years service were to get Lt Col Pension. Many have not got it and hence the letter below may be sent by them to the AG Branch.

Officers of equivalent ranks from Navy and Airforce may also write to inquire if such provision was there for them too and if so why it was not implemented in an individual case.
Brgds,
Cdr Ravindra Waman Pathak
Member Governing Body and Pension Cell IESM
From: IC-___ Major ____ (Retd)Address
To:
1. Additional Director General Personnel Services, PS Directorate, Army HQrs, DHQ PO, New Delhi – 110 011
2. Controller of Defence Accounts (Officers), Golibar Maidan, Pune, Maharashtra
3. Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (Pensions), Draupadi Ghat, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh 20th October 2010 Non-grant of Pay Scale and Pension of Time Scale Lt Col till date as per the provisions of Para 5 (a) (iv) of Special Army Instruction (SAI) 2/S/98

Sir,
1. I, IC-_____, Maj ______, retired from .......... ..... after approximately __ years of service in the rank of substantive Major on 31-01-1998. As per Para 5 (a) (iv) of SAI 2/S/98, officers who were substantive Majors prior to 01-01-1996 and who could not be promoted as Time Scale or Selection Grade Lt Cols were to be automatically granted the pay scale of time scale Lt Col (without promotion to the actual rank of TS Lt Col) on completion of 21 years of service with effect from 01-01-1996. I was commissioned on 15-03-1970 and was a substantive Major with more than 21 years of service as on 01-01-1996. The said scale as per the SAI was not granted to me and I was retired in the pay and pension of a Major and not of a Lt Col. It seems that all of my similarly placed fellow officers have been granted the benefit except me.
2. In view of the above, you are requested to kindly initiate the process of granting me the pay-scale and pension of time scale Lt Col with effect from 01-01-1996 as per the provisions of the ibid SAI which has not been done till date probably due to some oversight at your end.
3. An early action with intimation to the undersigned is requested please. Thanking You
Maj ____(Retd)