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

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: Misleading Headlines- Media and ESM taken for a Ride?

References- Economic Times:

Cabinet clears Rs 2,300-crore package for one-rank-one-pension for armed forces

One Rank One Pension: Ex-servicemen unhappy with govt's announcement of pension hike

Amarinder Singh hails one-rank-one-pension for ex-servicemen
Dear Editor of Economic Times,
I would like to bring to your notice of a misleading Headlines in ET dated 25 Sep 2012.Click Here. The Government Press Note, of Course, has mislead thousands of Ex-servicemen on granting of OROP.
6th Pay Commission had recommended a Pension Formula for Pre-2006 Defence Retirees. Further, the Commission had recommended that Pre 2006 retirees should at least get a minimum pension that is half of lowest end of the revised Pay scale/fitment scale granted to serving personnel of equivalent rank. But the Bureaucrats in implementing this recommendation wrongly interpreted that the Retirees would get half of the minimum of PAY Band where their rank along with other ranks figured. This simple anomaly was pointed out by pre-2006 retirees to the Government but the Bureaucrats did not take any corrective action. This forced the Ex-servicemen of rank Major to approach Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) for directions to Govt. AFT accepted their plea as genuine and asked Government to take immediate remedial action.
Meanwhile a group of Civilian officers also approached Civilian Administrative Tribunal (CAT) for corrective action in lines of AFT Judgement. This was upheld by CAT and necessary directions were issued.
The Secretaries Committee ordered by PM used this opportunity to show that they were making efforts to "bridge" the gap between pensions of Post 2006 pensioners and Pre-2006 pensioners holding same rank and years of service. If the first step in a 100 meters sprint is considered as a major step to bridge the distance between start to the final destination, then Govt can take credit. But Govt cannot surely take any credit for the bogus claim "One Rank One Pension Okayed" as prominently published by your Political Bureau in the second page of ET. I am afraid that your correspondent has been taken for a "ride" just like thousands of Ex-servicemen taken for a "ride" yesterday based on the announcement of PM on Aug 15 on OROP.
A Major lesson from this episode is obvious. Why Bureaucrats oppose inclusion of Serving Defence Personnel or even Ex-servicemen in high power study teams on their demands is because the members from the Services would have prevented the Bureaucrats taking them as well general public (including Media) on "ride" like they did every time a Study team submitted its recommendations that were then approved by Political Bosses without even consulting the affected personnel. S.Murugan.
Air Cmde (Retd)

More Comments...
Ashok Ganguly (New Delhi)
25 Sep, 2012 11:50 PM
If what is stated is correct, I wonder why this Government can’t keep a simple issue simple and display Honest intent. To a normal layman (not an intelligent crook) an OROP is like a Havildar with say 24 years of service, who retired in 1947 or 1997 or 2007, should get the same pension drawn by a Havildar with 24 years of service retired on 31 Aug 2012. This is what is called “Removing the Disparity”. Anything else amounts to simple cheating and an attempt to fool ex servicemen. Why can’t the Government make an honest attempt and erase the mistrust? Do they think that fooling people is the only way to win votes? How can they forget the services and sacrifices rendered by the servicemen? Why must they get entangled in a beaurocratic mess every time and in every thing?
VK Khurana (New Delhi)
25 Sep, 2012 10:13 PM
The very least expected of this Government, governed by the unfair bureaucrats, is that it should not misinform the nation that what they have given is OROP, which is clearly not the case.A small increase in the crumbs -yes, but nothing more. But then , we may be living in a fool's paradise if we still think this Government has any graceful side to it. The fight for true OROP should be continued with all our might. Jai Hind An ex-service man.
Tailpiece- Military and Police made Dummies

Concert of Chiefs~I- Making A Public Issue Of Demands

Pay Commission Award DESERVING BEFORE DESIRING By Ashok Kapur, IAS (Retd)
Comment: Any student of psychology will tell you that a very thin line divides a genius from a lunatic and many geniuses cross this line sometimes but certainly at later age.
Veteran Ram Gulrajani

'one-rank, one-pension' still a distant dream for Jawans

Govt enhances pensions of retired soldiers, 'one-rank, one-pension' still distant Rajat Pandit, TNN | Sep 24, 2012, 11.05PM IST
NEW DELHI: Faced with huge discontentment among military personnel over their long-standing pay and pension grievances, the government on Monday finally announced an annual Rs 2,300 crore additional pension package for ex-servicemen but stopped short of granting them full one-rank, one-pension (OROP).
The government also maintained silence on the fate of the five main demands of serving officers and jawans, who contend they were given "a raw deal" in the 6th Pay Commission as compared to their civilian counterparts.
Their demands, which were also considered by the high-powered committee led by cabinet secretary Ajit Kumar Seth, ranged from common pay scale for junior commissioned officers/other ranks (JCOs/ORs) and enhancement of grade pay to placing all lieutenant generals in the HAG + (higher administrative grade-plus) scale and grant of non-functional upgradation to armed forces personnel.
But the 23 lakh ex-servicemen, many of whom have been holding regular rallies and returning their medals as a mark of protest for the last four years, have something to cheer about. For one, the Union Cabinet approved the "bridging of the gap" between the pensions of the JCOs/ORs who retired before January 1996 and those who superannuated after that date.
It was also decided to increase the "weightage of qualifying service" for pension by two years in the ranks of sepoys, naiks and havaldars for both pre and post January 1996 retirees.
Moreover, the pension of pre-January 1996 retired officers will also be stepped up "with reference to the minimum of fitment table for the ranks instead of the minimum of pay band" as it exists now. Officials said these steps "are expected to largely meet" the demands of ex-servicemen for OROP, which incidentally has been promised by virtually all political parties over the years.
For another, the government has approved enhancement in family pension, allowed dual family pension (where the pensioner was drawing pension for military service as well as civil employment) and family pension to mentally challenged children of armed forces personnel even after they get married.
"But all this is modified parity and not the OROP we have been demanding," said a retired major general. OROP basically implies that uniform pension be paid to the personnel retiring in the same rank with the same length of service irrespective of their date of retirement and any further enhancement in pension rates be automatically be passed on to past pensioners.
The argument is that unlike civilian government employees, who retire at 60 years of age, military personnel retire by rank at comparatively younger ages. "All jawans retire in their mid-30s, all JCOs in their mid-40s and the bulk of officers in early-50s to keep the armed forces from greying. Only a handful of officers like lieutenant generals serve up to 60 years," said an officer.
"Since the date of retirement also determines the quantum of pension, with each Pay Commission every 10 years, the military veterans who retire early receive lesser pension compared to those who retired later with the same rank and service," he added.
But the defence ministry in the past has contended that full OROP is not financially, legally or administratively feasible. Full OROP implementation would mean an annual outgo of another Rs 1,200-1,300 crore, apart from payment of arrears in the range of Rs 4,000 crore.
Govt enhances pensions of retired soldiers, 'one-rank, one-pension' still distant

Pension enhancement to beat inflation: OROP made POOR

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2012
Cabinet approval granted to pensionary part of the report of the Committee of Secretaries
The cabinet has today approved the pensionary part of the PM appointed Committee of Secretaries.
What has been accepted and promulgated is the same as was placed on this blog on 09 August 2012. Click here.
An official press release can also be accessed by clicking here.

Service pension for various ranks shall now be the following:
For Junior Commissioned Officers and Other Ranks (JCOs/OR). Add two years in the existing tables which can be accessed by clicking here. For example, to get to know the basic pension now admissible at 15 years, the amount reflected at 17 years will be reckoned now.

For Officers: The admissible basic pension for pre-2006 retirees shall be as below:
Lieut: Rs 13,500
Capt: Rs 15,350
Maj : Rs 18,205
Lt Col: Rs 26,265
Col: Rs 27,795
Brig: Rs 29,145
Maj Gen: Rs 30,350
Posted by Navdeep / Maj Navdeep Singh at 9:50 PM
Click here for Maj Navdeep's Original Post
Related Tribune News
Govt moves closer to one rank, one pension; clears Rs 2,300-cr package

IAS Officer wants the military command and control chain to be tinkered constantly by bureaucrats

Ref: Making A Public Issue Of Demands by Ashok Kapur IAS
Ashok Kapur, IAS (Retd): Who was he?
A former bureaucrat, he served as Director, Central Vigilance & Jt Secretary, Govt of India, Chairman, Drafting Committee of UN Disarmament Conference on Biological Weapons, Geneva, among other postings. Following retirement as Principal Secretary, Govt of West Bengal, he did MICA and FICA. Currently he is Secretary General, Institute of Directors (an NGO) and Arbitrator, Member, Board of Governors, International Academy of Law, headed by former CJI, Justice Bhagwati. A post-graduate from Delhi Univ, he joined the IPS and stood first in all-India, 1966 and joined the IAS in 1967. He is an LLB from Delhi Univ and has a Ph.D in Urban Planning from NIUA, Delhi & appointed as Associate Prof (Urban & Environmental Planning).
Ashok Kapur favours corruption as against Lokpal Bill- Under the guise of a basic postulate of the rule of law is that all laws placed on the statute book must conform to the Constitution
Please don’t pass the Lokpal Bill
Comment: Bureaucrats have turned India into a den of thieves- It is now a safe haven for thugs and culprits. Thanks to IAS! Ashok Kapur should, after retirement, confine his expertise in Urban planning in all Metros which is now barely livable.

The article by Mr Ashok Kapur, a former IAS officer- Click Here
It needs a rebuttal. Matter of fact. Unemotional. Contesting the vast number of irrelevant, misinformed points raised by him.
It is fortunate that we now know how the Bureaucratic mind works. Transparent in this spiteful article, the contents reflect the sort of conversation that obviously takes place behind closed doors and minute sheets in MOD and other closely confined decision making bodies.
Few observations I have on this are:

Inadequate research, ie statements unsubstantiated by facts.

A desperate bid to counter the COS appointment being currently talked about,

Mistaking Civil Control as control by Bureaucracy- that, as he says, needs strengthening,

Need for Parity in Pay and Pensions with civilians- he forgets that the parity in pay and even status has been tinkered by civil services even after Pay Commissions gave an award,

He forgets that we don't have representation on Pay commissions and so an 'unscrambling of the omelette' has to take place when there are anomalies introduced surreptitiously even after the finalization of the CPC report.

The bottom line seems the aim to stop COS as a concept, and to introduce methods to strengthen the Civil Services. I am working on and would be responding. Other Veterans may do the same. As they say, One good deed deserves another. Please don't restrict your response to Veteran circles.
With Warm Regards,
Veteran Col RP Chaturvedi

Govt to retire non-performing bureaucrats

Tuesday 04 September, 2012.DD News
In order to maintain a high standard of efficiency in governance, the Centre is reviewing the performance of all-India service officers and has asked the state governments to carry out similar exercises so that non-performing officials could be retired from services.
Assessment of the performance of Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers, who have completed at least 15 years of service, has already been started, a Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) official said.
"DoPT has begun review performance of IAS officers and also asked the state governments to do so. The aim behind this exercise is to check on non-performing officers and guard departments against the operation of the 'Peter Principle'... The states are given a maximum of six-month time to carry out this exercise," he said.
The 'Peter Principle', coined by psychologist Laurence J Peter and Raymond Hull in 1969, is a belief that in an organisation where promotion is based on achievement, success, and merit, the employees there will eventually be promoted beyond their level of ability. In common parlance, the principle is also phrased as "employees tend to rise to their level of incompetence".
In January, the Centre had amended Rule 16 (3) of all- India services rule which allowed a performance review only after completion of 30 years of qualifying service.
The new rules gives powers to the government to give retirement to these officers in "public interest" after at least 15 years in the job.
The government can again carry out such review after the officer completes 25 years of service or attains the age of 50 years.
"The Centre may also hold a meeting of state governments after the review to decide on the fate of the non-performing bureaucrats," the official said, adding that the detailed modalities on the exercise will be worked out in coordination with Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Environment and Forests and Union Public Service Commission.(ST-03/09)
Govt to retire non-performing bureaucrats

Swift action needed on armed forces pay parity

Scuffle between Officers and Jawans: click here for details
Swift action needed on armed forces pay parity
By The New Indian Express 01st August 2012 11:59 PM
Navy Chief Admiral Nirmal Kumar Verma has raised a valid objection by pointing out to defence minister A K Antony that there is no representation of military in the four-member committee set up by prime minister to take a final view on the demands of the armed forces for pay parity and other benefits. The committee was set up following a grim reminder to the prime minister from Antony that the service personnel, ex-servicemen and family pensioners were agitated over anomalies in salaries and if immediate corrective action was not taken things may take a bad turn. Ironically the panel is headed by the cabinet secretary and comprises only senior bureaucrats — a group which the armed forces suspect are responsible for the government dragging its feet on the issue for the last many years.
The military has valid reasons to suspect that the civilian bureaucracy cannot be trusted to resolve the issue equitably and expeditiously. Records dating back to almost four years show that Manmohan Singh had approved the proposal for setting up a high powered committee to redress their grievances long back but the babus in the central secretariat managed to stall it till Antony virtually warned him of the consequences of further delay.
The manner in which the officers serving the armed forces have been downgraded has already led to a yawning chasm between them and the civilian bureaucracy. Recent controversies during the last year of former Army Chief, V K Singh, have demonstrated how demoralising these could be for the men in arms who have valiantly defended India against foreign aggressions and internal insurgency at great cost of men and material. Yet the government has failed to address the issues of pay anomalies raised by the armed forces since the report of the sixth pay commission of 2008 till date. This is an unacceptable situation. The technocrat prime minister should rise above his usual bureaucratic approach to resolve the crisis. Representatives of the armed forces must be given due weightage in the process of this resolution.
Swift action needed on armed forces pay parity

MHA now has Fake CBI Officials

Three arrested for cheating people by posing as CBI officials Press Trust of India | Updated: May 06, 2012 22:58 IST NDTV Report
New Delhi: Three persons, including a senior scientific officer of Central Forensic Science Laboratory and an employee of Revenue department, were today arrested for allegedly entering into a criminal conspiracy and cheating people by posing as CBI officials and demanding bribe. The CBI conducted searches based on a complaint from a property dealer in Ghaziabad against A R Arora, Senior Scientific Officer working with CFSL, alleging that he had threatened him with police action by lodging a complaint against him.
CBI examined the complaint and registered a case against Arora, an assistant posted in Department of Revenue Shiv Charan, a private person identified as Manish Sharma and an official of Central Excise Department under various sections of IPC and Prevention of Corruption Act, CBI spokesperson said.
After registering cases, the CBI carried out searches at various places in Delhi and Karnal in Haryana and claimed to have recovered Rs. three lakh in cash from Arora's residence.According to the CBI spokesperson, it was alleged that the Senior Scientific Officer, while introducing himself as Additional Deputy Director CBI, falsely informed a property dealer based in Ghaziabad that a complaint against him was pending, for which the property dealer was required to visit h Arora is alleged to have threatened the property dealer that he would use his powers and register a criminal case against him and later advised him to get the matter pursued through Sharma by giving illegal gratification for settling the "complaint", which was false, the spokesperson said.
In another case, Arora is alleged to have actually carried out an illegal and unauthorised search at the premises of some businessman in order to obtain illegal gratification, the spokesperson said.
It was alleged that an employee of Shiv Charan, an assistant in the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, an official of Central Excise and Manish Sharma introduced themselves as public servants with powers to carry out search operations, and conducted illegal and unauthorised searches.
After the searches, they demanded an illegal gratification from the businessman to abate the search proceedings and allegedly received a huge amount as bribe, the spokesperson said.
click here for the original post: Three arrested for cheating people by posing as CBI officials
CBI and Chidambaram
CBI likely to whitewash Armsgate scam: ROOTS OF POWER by MADHAV NALAPAT

Coup: Bureaucrats have become the conduits of perverse and hair- brained leaks

One flew over the coup-coup’s nest
Lt Gen Vijay Oberoi | Sunday, April 8, 2012
Ever since the Chief raised the issue of his wrongly recorded date of birth, some Ministry of Defence (MoD) bureaucrats have become the conduits of perverse and hair-brained leaks that are being fed to the media. The plan is to first put down the Chief and the army, and then through a denial of those leaks, to show how good they, the bureaucrats, really are. This is warped thinking at its worst.

Recently, one of the national newspapers reached the height of absurdity and published a so-called scoop with a banner headline, giving a perverse twist to a routine event, news which practically all newspapers and TV news channels had carried in January this year when the event had actually occurred. A simple training exercise for testing the ability of a few army units to move in the fog of north Indian winters has now taken sinister tones in their view. The newspaper has virtually accused the army, and hence the Chief, of plotting the overthrow of the government. I always thought that it was the likes of John le Carréacute; and other fiction writers who wrote mystery plots, but now we have these journalists and media persons beating writers of fiction at their own game.

The question to be asked is that if the army really wanted to take over — and let me hasten to add that it has never wanted to — would a piece of paper, saying ‘report all moves of units towards Delhi’ be enough to stop it? Secondly, when our mechanised forces move out for operations, they do not do so on slow and cumbersome tank transporters, but they do so on tracks and they carry ammunition. Thirdly, can two units of the army carry out a takeover; the mind boggles at the naivety of the mediapersons who were apparently taken for a right royal ride, especially when there are much larger forces already stationed in Delhi, plus the large number of contingents assembled for the Republic Day Parade. Lastly, it is farcical to think that the police by slowing down traffic or posting lookouts will be able to stop an army column. Such measures are for birds, but then our bureaucrats, with their well known limitations, neither have the imagination or capability to conceive anything different.

Military coups are to be avoided, not by instituting such puerile measures but by working together as equals, by respecting each other’s concerns, discarding and permanently burying the master-subordinate dispensation, the kind that prevails in bureaucratic thinking at present. Our army needs to be commended that despite a surfeit of wrongs committed toward it for decades and with political leaders abrogating their authority and power to the bureaucrats, the army has stood firm, utterly loyal and focused on its tasks. But how long can it continue to tolerate these assaults which are uncalled for?

We have a unique but absurd organisation for higher defence, where the MoD is wholly staffed by the bureaucrats and has been interposed between the political leadership and the military. Are our political leaders so incompetent that they are unable to deal directly with the military, without some bureaucrat holding their hand? This absurdity must end. We need separate Departments of Army, Navy and Air Force, presided over by ministers of state, and manned jointly and equally by military and civil officials. The military must be brought in the policy formulation loop and this is best done in our context by appointing a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), who would render professional advice to the Prime Minister, Defence Minister and more importantly to the Cabinet Committee on Security. The integrated staff under him must also comprise both military and civil officials.

We have still not been able to design a defence procurement agency that is able to procure arms, equipment and ammunition speedily and honestly. Unless this is done, no effective modernisation can take place. It is time the elected representatives take charge and ensure that the downgrading of the army and its vilification by some self-centered bureaucrats stops. The bubble of discontentment among the rank and file of the military, who have always placed service to the nation above themselves, can burst, if the political leadership fails to make changes as suggested. Neither political rhetoric nor delaying tactics like setting up committees are likely to help.

Those who think it will be business as usual after the present Chief demits office are sadly mistaken. The Chief Designate is a highly professional officer, steeped in army ethos. He would also do what is best for the army and the nation.

The writer is a former Vice Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS) and former Founder Director of the Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS).
One flew over the coup-coup’s nest

Ministry of Defence withdraws appeals against pre-1973 pensioners

MoD withdraws appeals against grant of ‘service element’
Pension to pre-1973 disabled ex-servicemen
Vijay Mohan/TNS
Chandigarh, February 24, 2012
Bringing succour to hundreds of disabled ex-servicemen pensioners across the country, the grant of “service element” to whom had been challenged by the government in the Supreme Court, the Defence Ministry today informed the apex court that it had decided to withdraw appeals in all such cases that were bunched and listed yesterday.

The veterans concerned, many of whom belong to this region, would now be entitled to get their dues and arrears in accordance with existing rules and court rulings. Lawyers associated with the cases said some of the affected veterans were in their nineties now.

Disabled personnel are entitled to a disability pension consisting of a “service element” commensurate with the length of service and a “disability element” that depends upon the quantum of injury. Prior to 1964, on disability decreasing below 20 per cent, the disability element used to be withdrawn, but the service element continued if the service rendered was more than 15 years. The service limit for service element was brought down to 10 years in 1964 and 5 years in 1968.

With effect from 1973, the qualifying service requirement for service element was totally abrogated and persons with even one day of service became eligible for service element. Even after 1973, the MoD refused to extend the benefit of service element to earlier retirees with lesser length of service, leading to a spate of litigation. Ultimately, various high courts ruled in favour of disabled ex-servicemen, asking the govt to release service element irrespective of length of service to pre-1973 retirees.

Though the appeals filed by the government against HC decisions were time and again dismissed by the SC, the MoD continued to file SLPs against its disabled veterans, leading to multiple litigation. Sources associated with the issue said the Adjutant General’s Branch and the Army’s Personnel Services Directorate repeatedly requested the MoD’s Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare to resolve the issue, but the requests were not acceded to.

Sources say the current Secretary DESW Samirendra Chatterjee, however, saw reason in the Army’s proposal and played an instrumental role in withdrawing all such appeals and conceding the matter.

On the last date earlier this month, the Supreme Court Bench hearing the case had asked the MoD to “seek instructions” if it did not want an adverse order. The veterans have welcomed the government’s move to withdraw the said cases.
Clicjk here for the Tribune Post
Click here for the earlier Blog Post
Comment: We need to thank the Media, Maj Navdeep and Ajai Shukla for taking on the "MOD Bulls". I hope similarly MoD finds sense in the two decade Rank Pay litigation case dragging on and release the arrears of pension entitled under the 4th Central Pay Commission to the Officers who were cheated of it.

Super Power Bureaucrats of India

Dear All,
In his Book "SUPER POWER-'The Amazing Race between China’s Hare and India’s Tortoise' Raghav Bahl gives this very apt description of how Indian bureaucrats function, by and large!
Lt Gen Harbhajan Singh (Retd)

The Indian civil servant is enormously intelligent. He is amongst the brightest in the land. He gets it quickly. He is usually articulate and accessible. He can see thru a problem and understand solutions. His instinct is to push a decision, not take it. But he often lacks the gumption to ‘just do it’. He is trained to see the glass as half empty, never half full. His instinct is to push a decision, never take it. He is a champion of the ‘middle route’, the ‘golden mean’. He stays clear of anything that is even remotely controversial, breakthrough or bold. He uses ‘consensus’ and ‘consultation’ as a shield to ‘protect his backside’. His favorite phrase is that ‘government decisions are a process-not result oriented’. Of course there is that exceptional officer who goes against the grain, who innovates and takes risks, but to borrow another favorite phrase, ‘by and large’ these guys like to hedge their bets to the point of inaction.

Will MoD see sense in the date of birth evidence?

Age row: Time for MoD to see sense
February 7, 2012 DC
The way the wrangle over the issue of the Army Chief’s age has gone, the critical observations of the Supreme Court on matters relating to the subject last week should not cause surprise.

To those who don’t take recourse to splitting hairs, the defence ministry’s public position on the chief’s age appeared unduly hard, and not mindful of the sensitivity of the question that may have an indirect bearing on civil-military relations.

What appeared particularly combative was the recent observation of defence minister A.K. Antony that the government had shown “patience” in the affair, suggesting Gen. V.K. Singh was out of line in approaching the Supreme Court for justice upon the rejection of his statutory complaint by the ministry on December 30 last year.

While the Supreme Court is yet to go into the merits of the case of Gen. Singh’s age — and it has made that quite clear — it had no hesitation upholding Gen. Singh’s right to move the nation’s highest court with his plea. Besides, the court held that the government’s order of December 30 was against the principle of natural justice and was ultra vires.

The latter suggests misuse of authority or poor judgment in the exercise of powers. What must sting is the court’s suggestion that the government “withdraw” its December 30 order so that Gen. Singh may have the option to go with his plea on age to the Armed Forces Tribunal or to the high court, even indicating that the latter may be the preferable course as the general is due to retire in four months’ time.

It is pertinent that the Supreme Court framed its observations in the context of deficiencies in the process of decision-making, which it said had “vitiated” the decision in this case — leading to the rejection of the Army Chief’s statutory complaint. This is clearly a rap on the knuckles.

The court said that the government’s July 21 order dismissing Gen. Singh’s contention on age flowed from the advice of the attorney-general, and the later rejection of the statutory complaint of Gen. Singh against that order also derived from the advice of the same law official.

The court has all but indicated that if the government does not withdraw the December 30 order, it may proceed to “quash” it. The hard time the government is getting is of its own making. Evidently, the A-G’s advice in one too many high-profile case has proved less than sound. The government would also do well to get off its high horse.

It shouldn’t in every instance of dealing with the military imagine that it is preserving the notion of the superiority of civilian authority over the armed forces.
Age row: Time for MoD to see sense
Comment: Why is the MoD so obsessed with the succession plot evolved by former Army Chief's, Gen's JJ Singh and Deepak Kapoor whose intentions obviously are mala fide. MoD needs to honestly give its reasons and not use the Date of Birth as a ploy to play around.

Gen VK Singh age row: Antony gets a week to reconcile records

Friday, 3 February 2012 Antony gets a week to eat crow!
Just back from the Supreme Court. In 40 minutes of riveting legal drama in a courtroom packed to the rafters, Mr Justice Lodha and Mr Justice Gokhale demonstrated why India's higher judiciary is such a powerful force in this country.
Unmoved by a forceful performance from the government's legal stars --- Attorney General Goolam Vahanvati and Solicitor General Rohinton Nariman, who argued in tandem --- the Court has given the Defence Ministry a week to let the Supreme Court know whether the MoD would prefer that Mr Antony's decision on General VK Singh's petition be quashed, and the MoD would consider his statutory complaint afresh... or would the MoD prefer that the Court hears the chief's petition under Article 32 of the Constitution.
The Court made it clear that Antony's decision of 30th December 2011, rejecting the Army Chief's statutory complaint, violated the principles of natural justice. Antony's rejection was based on the Attorney General's legal opinion; that same Attorney General had also provided opinion that informed the MoD's earlier rejection (on July 2011) of the chief's request for his date of birth to be recognised as 1951, not 1950. The court's legal question was: How could the Attorney General provide the legal backstop for Antony's 30th December decision, when it was the same Attorney General's legal opinion that was being questioning in Gen Singh's statutory complaint? There was a clear conflict of interest here, observed the Court.
The Court also opposed the government's argument that the case should go to the Armed Forces Tribunal. When the chief has just four months of service left, the Court asked, why delay? And any appeal against the AFT's decision would come up before the Supreme Court again, the judges observed.
Antony gets a week to eat crow!

From archives of Dawn on Sam Manekshaw
Words of grace from our adversary: click here

Sad Commentary
'The death of the only Indian to be appointed field marshal when in active service has been remarkable for the warmth of the ordinary men and women who queued up to say 'thank you'…. It was also remarkable for the complete lack of grace and gratitude, civility and courtesy, decency and decorum on the part of the bold-faced names rapaciously grazing the lawns of power in Delhi and elsewhere, for the brain behind India's only decisive military victory.' And a sentence which would have made Sam Bahadur chuckle: As he rightly surmised once: 'I wonder whether those of our political masters who have been put in charge of the defence of the country can distinguish a mortar from a motor, a gun from a howitzer, a guerrilla from a gorilla – although a great many of them in the past have resembled the latter'.
Now it seems the MOD and its pundits are also unable to decide, deduce or discern the date of birth from original documents...!

Defence Ministry declares Military as a Monarchy for succession

Defence Ministry: Concert of Errors
Nancy Kaul 02 Feb 2012
A distinguished historian once said, great civilisations do not die, but they can commit suicide. India, a nation and a civilisation, seems bent on taking this perilous path to ruin. Nothing else can explain the morbid determination with which the ruling Congress-led dispensation has set out to humiliate and destroy the Indian Army, the most vital institution for the country’s defence and security in an increasingly turbulent age.

Pig-headed acts of omission and commission by a few individuals concerned only with their petty egos and illicit calculations of gain or prestige are playing with the honour of the Army Chief, the nation’s preeminent soldier and an officer of sterling quality.

The entirely contrived controversy over the date of birth of Gen. Vijay Kumar Singh is little more than a clerical error that a previous Army Chief decided to exploit to create a ‘line of succession’ of his choice – though he had no legal or moral right to create such a chain of succession. The issue should have been sorted out by his successor, but he was upset over the current incumbent’s non-compromising attitude towards corruption in the ranks!

That is why the issue finally landed in the corridors of the Ministry of Defence, which promptly proceeded to make a hash of it. Babus without accountability or conscience stirred the pot, but Defence Minister A.K. Anthony – who did nothing and passed the buck around to colleagues Pranab Mukherjee, P. Chidambaram and Salman Khurshid among others – took the cake when he told the media that the issue was the creation of the Indian Army itself!

What for is he a Minister if he cannot untangle a non-binding error in a form, and reconcile the same with a wealth of legal documentation?

Certainly Mr. Anthony must take full responsibility for the sudden receipt of an undated letter by Army Headquarters on 23 Jan 2012, from the Ministry of Defence.

The letter is blatantly illegal, bad in law and intent, and is doubtless ab initio void. It is a hasty and clumsy attempt to ‘fix’ the legal record in favour of the Government, now that the General’s petition is being heard by the Supreme Court on Friday, 3 February 2012.

Had the Union Law Ministry, or even the unimpressive Attorney General been consulted, they would have warned about the perils of sub-judice. But whom the gods destroy, the first drive mad…

Thus, a bemused nation witnessed the spectacle of a deputy secretary in the Ministry of Defence, K.L. Nandwani, directing the Adjutant General (AG), the official record-keeper of the Indian Army, to ‘change’ its records and ensure that Gen Singh’s year of birth is recorded as 10 May 1950 [and not 10 May 1951 as recorded by a plethora of official documentation].

Does this mean that the Adjutant General should make the desired changes in each and every document that records 10 May 1951 as Gen V.K. Singh’s date of birth, viz. – the Pune military hospital where he was born; his father’s military service record; school leaving certificate; NDA and IMA certificates; career records; decorations and awards from the Government of India … Is it a joke?

But it seems the madmen at the MoD were serious, as the letter directs Army Headquarters to maintain ‘strict compliance’ with this order and send ‘a compliance report to the Ministry at the earliest’. So far, as the media has reported, compliance has been negative. And that is how it should be.

Given the outrageousness of this order, some points deserve to be mentioned:

The concerned bureaucrat was too junior an officer to dare to send such a missive to an officer of the status of Adjutant General

Clearly the letter was an attempt to browbeat the AG’s office at the instance of Defence Minister A.K. Anthony

Even the Defence Secretary would not have taken the decision to have the letter issued without clearance from the Minister for fear of being exposed via an RTI query and hauled up in the courts

The Prime Minister has conducted himself once again as the blind king Dhritrashtra, who brought no glory to the House of Pandu and ultimately caused the demise of each of his hundred sons.

Antony, General Singh blame Army for the age row

As the Supreme Court gets ready to hear the Army Chief age row, both Defence Minister AK Antony and Army Chief General Vijay Kumar Singh on Tuesday blamed the Army for the mess. Both Antony as well as General Singh said that the Army sat on the problem for 36 years and that the problem should not recur.

Antony said that the Supreme Court verdict on the controversy surrounding the date of birth of Army Chief will be final. Refusing to see the controversy as a civil-military conflict, Antony said that people responsible for maintaining the records will take the decision on General Singh’s date of birth.

“It’s gone beyond the government. Let’s wait for the Supreme Court decision. That will be final and nobody can question that,” said Antony in New Delhi on Tuesday.

“There are people responsible for that, (and) they will take the decision. At this stage it won’t come to me,” said the Defence Minister.

Antony pointed out that the controversy was not new and it had been festering for over 36 years.

“It’s been 36 years but the government was not in picture. It was only known to the Army. In 2006 the Army noticed two dates of birth, then it went to the level of Army Chief in 2006. The government of that day took a decision and recommended it to the Army. Where is the civil-military controversy? In 2008 it was another Army Chief and then the recommendation was sent to the government and the government accepted that,” he said.

Reacting to the Defence Minister’s statement, Genral VK Singh said, “Yes, this problem has been within the Army. It shouldn’t have happened, but has continued for 36 years, and this problem will not recur ever again.”

“The letter from the Defence Ministry to the Adjutant General’s branch is being studied and reply will be given in due course,” he said.

“There was some problem in coordination between the branch that keeps all the service records and other branches. Now a system has been put in place to resolve the coordination problem. As a result, such problem will never recur,” General Singh said.
Antony, General Singh blame Army for the age row
Highlights of the sidelights
Indian Army’s dignity in danger

The General and the labyrinth

The Hindu January 18, 2012
The controversy over the age of General V.K. Singh, the subject of an already heated and often unseemly public debate, is now threatening to get out of hand. With the Army Chief left with no resort but to challenge the Defence Ministry in the Supreme Court in order to “protect his integrity and honour,” the issue has the makings of an unseemly civilian-military confrontation that could easily have been avoided had plain common sense prevailed over bureaucratic thick-headedness. There are a slew of documents — including a birth certificate and a school-leaving certificate — that prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that General Singh, whose father as well as grandfather were Army officers, was born on May 10, 1951. This is the date of birth recorded in the office of the Adjutant General, the Army's official record-keeper. The controversy has arisen because the Military Secretary — another wing of Army Headquarters that maintains personal records relating to postings, transfers, and promotions — records him as having been born on May 10, 1950. General Singh has been at pains to explain that the latter date, gleaned from an application form for entrance to the National Defence Academy when he was only 14 years old, was a mistake committed by a teacher of his. He has also revealed that the discrepancy was raised with two predecessor Army Chiefs — but, strangely and for reasons the Defence Ministry has not yet disclosed, to no avail.

A brave and highly decorated officer, General Singh is recognised as a brilliant strategist and a reform-minded leader who is tough on corruption, as reflected in the hard line he adopted against erring officers in the Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society scam. The mudslinging and insinuations intended to portray him as someone fiddling with his birth date to hang on to the power and privileges of high office must be rejected with contempt. One major reason why his year of birth has become such a hot potato is that the date of his retirement will have a bearing on who will succeed him as Army Chief. By refusing to accede to General Singh's request to correct the official record on the basis of documented fact, the Defence Ministry has shown astonishing short-sightedness, and in the process tread on a proud soldier's sense of honour. Even now, rather than fight for a bad cause in the highest court in the land, a disputation that could have a bearing on the Army's morale, the government should backtrack and come up with a constructive solution. By conceding General Singh's just case and treating him with the respect and honour that are his due, it should be able to clear the decks for a smooth succession to the post he occupies.
The General and the labyrinth

Records to be reconciled?
Army chief age row: Government wants records reconciled

Army Chief vs Govt: Should General VK Singh resign?

Left Right & Centre: A day after the Army Chief dragged the government to the Supreme Court over his age, the government has decided to fight him and stands firm. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has held consultations with senior ministers and the Centre has filed a caveat in the court that says it be heard before any order is passed.

Ageing Indian Army: Anti- Insurgency/ Counter- Terrorism or a Combat Force?

The Asian Age Home » Opinion » Interview of the Week
‘In terms of manpower, the Indian Army is ageing’
This is a good interview. I endorse Gen Malik's views on most issues.
1. Defence Services must have greater voice in forming National Strategic policies. Not to be left to Group of Ministers, mostly.
2. Having a CDS is a must.
3. Our organisations and concepts of large scale operations in mountains are old. The Army in the mountains in particular has to become LEANER AND MEANER. Much greater integral heli lift is essential as also armed hepter resources.
4. Indian Army has got tired of operating in counter insurgency operations in J&K and in the East. How long can a unit remain in such areas, year after year. Pakistan has really bled us for the last 64 years. These guys have nothing to eat and spend and an individual can be hired to do Jehad for paltry sums. Our passive attitude has not served us well. The only way is to have a TIT for TAT policy. We have to ignite the flame in Balochistan and let the Pak Army bleed there. The British and the Americans would also be interested to boil up things in Balochistan. Pak Army only understands a strong response.
Veteran Harbhajan Singh
Lt Gen

Interview of the Week with General VP Malik Jan 15, 2012
On the occasion of Army Day, former Army Chief Gen. V.P. Malik says that the current method of civilian control over the military leaves much to be desired. He also tells Sridhar Kumaraswami that grouping all strike corps under a strategic command is not a good idea.
In what ways can a career in the Army be made more attractive? Does this require more cash incentives or just better parity with the civilian services?
Three requirements, in order of priority:

improved promotion prospects with a golden handshake early-retirement policy

improved civil-military services parity

greater respect for soldiers and ex-servicemen from the government and society. We need to revisit terms and conditions of service that were framed in a different socio-economic milieu many years ago.
click here for the full interview

Wary of setback in SC, govt sends feelers to Gen VK Singh

Published: Thursday, Jan 19, 2012, 9:00 IST
Frantic parleys dominated the day on Wednesday with the UPA government sending feelers to army chief General VK Singh on his age issue Sources told DNA that Union law minister Salman Khurshid along with National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon met Gen Singh to find a solution to the rift between the government and the army chief.

The move comes after the government decided to take a hardline position on the issue following marathon meetings between prime minister Manmohan Singh and defence minister AK Antony on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, however, Khurshid pointed out that announcing the next army chief while Gen Singh’s petition was in the Supreme Court could prove to be a major problem from the government. According to him, an announcement at this stage could easily be construed as contempt of court.

This has put the government in a bind as it had decided to announce the next army chief during discussions that took place on Tuesday. Sources in South Block told DNA that Antony even sought all papers connected to the case as he was worried that the defence ministry bureaucracy could have “misled” him on the issue.

The government has also realised that Gen Singh has a good case in court since he has a birth certificate from Military hospital in Pune as well as a school leaving certificate that records his age as May 10, 1951.

In fact, sources said, the UPSC also raised the issue when Gen Singh joined the National Defence Academy nearly 40 years ago.

However, the documents submitted by Gen Singh as a cadet satisfied the commission and he was allowed to continue with 1951 as his birth year throughout his career. All his promotions were also conducted keeping 1951 as his birth year and even the identity card issued to him by the army headquarters at the time he was commissioned as an officer from the Indian Military Academy mentions 1951 as his year of birth.

The government has also realised that any order from the apex court will have large scale implications. If it wins the case, it could create a major issue since this could put the validity of a birth certificate and a school leaving certificate as age-proof in jeopardy. If the court rules in favour of Gen Singh, it could be an embarrassment even bigger than the 2G case with the international media picking up the story in a big way on Wednesday.

For the last two months, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee was acting as an interlocutor on behalf of the UPA government with Gen Singh. However, a petition filed by the army veterans, the Grenadiers Association, was coming up which could have vitiated Gen Singh’s options to go to court. The Grenadier’s petition was full of basic mistakes which are expected to be rejected by the apex court. To prevent such a prejudice building up, Gen Singh rushed through his petition on Monday morning.
Wary of setback in SC, govt sends feelers to Gen VK Singh

Comment: Is the Honest Defence Minister totally misguided by vested babus?