Pension Adalat Udaipur

1. The PCDA (P) Allahabad will hold Defence Pension Adalat at Udaipur Rajasthan in Dec 2011.The proposed dates by them are 22 and 23 Dec 2011,
2. The place and month were finalised by MoD/ CGDA and IHQ of MoD (Army) had issued instrs in Aug 2011 to controlling Fmns for issue of detailed instrs to lodger fmn at Mil Stn Udaipur for Adm and Lgs Bandobast. The final dates are yet to be confirmed by the controlling fmns.
3. All Military (Army,Navy & AF) and Civ pensioners paid from defence estimates are covered by such adalats who establish camp office and entertain complaints from the aggrieved pensioners.
4. A large number of senior officers from MoD, three service HQs, CGDA, PCDA (P), Def Accts Dept, officials from Banks, Soldier Boards and Record offices will attend the Adalat.
5. The pensioners are advised to register themselves in advance through post or E- Mail as per format and details given at the web site of PCDA P. The same can be seen by clicking at the link below- http://www.pcdapension.nic.in/pa/default.htm
6. The grievances are attended during the camp and face to face solutions are found in most of the cases by staff on ground. The proposed rally at Udaipur can be attended by all pensioners for whom it is convenient to travel to this part of Rajasthan especially from adjoining states of Gujarat, MP & UP in addition to the pensioners from Rajasthan.
7. This information may please be widely circulated to all Mil and Civ defence pensioners especially those from Rajasthan, Haryana, MP, UP and Gujarat. It is expected that the lodger fmn at Mil Stn Udaipur will make suitable bandobast for Veterans and def civ pensioners.
8. The pensioners will be required to make advance travel plans to visit Udaipur during the dates as finalised by authorities since December is a busy tourist month as well as very cold during X mus/ New Year Eve.
Wg Cdr CK Sharma (Retd)
Treasurer, IESM

Pensioners Problems addressed with Promptitude

Dear Colleagues,
It is always exhilarating to see a full inbox on opening the email. A large content comprises mails from the ESM environment advising us on what is wrong (several) and on what should be done (few). However, invariably the mails invite counters from others ending in a long trail of acrimonious, even venomous, exchanges. The drift is quite often indicative of criticism of IESMs inability to get OROP so far. All these are important for us to remain on our proverbial toes. Let me however, venture some suggestions:

Colleagues may do well to spend more effort and energy in weaving arguments in support of their own contention rather than on trying to condemn others’ point of view.

Do avoid getting personal. Everyone has a right to his/her view. Disagreements should be worded in a healthy language.

Some mails are unduly censorious of our Service Chiefs for their perceived inaction in pushing veterans’ cases. Unfortunately, most of such emails are a result of ignorance about what the Chiefs are doing. The environment may feel assured that the Service Heads are doing all that is feasible within the constraints of their being in uniform. There is general synergy in the efforts of veterans and Service Headquarters.
There have been many complaints from the ESM against the PCDA (P) Allahabad for their casualness in attending to pensioners’ problems. On 24 Feb 2011, I had written to CGDA against this. As a sample I had quoted the example of an unmarried dependent daughter of a deceased Brigadier whose pension case had been pending for a long time. (This has since been settled). Reply received from the CGDA is attached. It is hoped there is general improvement in service and the PCDA (P) acts with greater promptitude.
Best regards,
Lt Gen (Emeritus) Raj Kadyan, PVSM, AVSM, VSM
Chairman IESM

IESM: CGDA Pension Adalat on 28 Oct at Alwar

Dear All
A delegation of IESM met CGDA Shri Nand Kishor on 25 Oct 2010 at 1530h. Many points pertaining to difficulty in pension calculations, pension disbursement were discussed. The details of the discussion will be issued shortly.
However it has been confirmed by the CGDA that they have been regularly holding pension adalats to solve problems of ex-servicemen on the spot. So CGDA has held 100 pension adalats and have helped many ex-servicemen. Last adalat was held at Bangalore on 30/31 Aug 2010.
It is for the information of all that the next Pension Adalat of CGDA will be held at Army Public School Alwar on 28 and 29 Oct 2010. The adalat will assemble at 1000h onwards on both days.
All the exservicemen/widows living in and around alwar can take help of CGDA staff in finding a solution to their pension problems. It is important to take following documents with you for getting on the spot solution from the CGDA staff. Representative from the Banks will also be available in the Adalat.

Original PPO

Pension/ discharge book of the veteran.

Some document to confirm your address.

Some document to confirm your date of birth, like driving licence, election id card, Identity card issued by services, identity card issued by soldier sainik board or any document supporting and giving your date of birth.
In case of widows same documents must be carried to the adalat.
All are requested to take advantage of the adalat and solve your problems.
Regards,
Gp Capt VK Gandhi VSM
Gen Sec IESM

Army Vice Chief Launches CGDA’s Rail E-Ticketing

Vice Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen PC Bhardwaj launched a pilot project of Rail e-ticketing for the Armed Forces, here today. The project, being implemented by the Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA), will initially be available at 20 locations spread across the country. Armed Forces personnel will now have the convenience to book and print tickets through IRCTC website at unit locations. The project will enable automatic generation of all accounting, payment and financial reports.

Speaking on the occasion, General Bhardwaj said that the new system will cut tedious paperwork and introduce seamless processing “in one stroke”. He hoped that the ‘PCDA (Principal Controller of Defence Accounts) Travel System’ will slowly make the Passenger Reservation System (PRS) irrelevant and become a precursor to automation and better management. In her address, the CGDA, Smt Bulbul Ghosh said that the pilot project will gradually be expanded to more than 5,000 Army, Navy and Air Force units across the country. The e-ticketing system will be completed in four phases, - the first phase will cover Rail Travel, Air Travel will be covered in the second phase, Defence civilians will be included in the third phase and TA processing will be completely online in the final phase.

The main features of the e-ticketing facility are availability round-the-clock, user friendly, ease of operation and accounting while taking care of security concerns. In the new system, the units will be enabled to have a virtual PRS of the railways in the units itself, which will be enabled to issue tickets through a centralised portal operated by the CGDA office. For this purpose, the CGDA has entered into an agreement with the IRCTC. With this facility, the system of railway warrants which obliged Armed Forces personnel to go in for manual tickets at the PRS counter and involved a lot of paperwork, will gradually be replaced.

Over six million warrants are issued to the Armed Forces every year, involving worth over 580 crore rupees. PK/HH/RAJ PIB
Army Vice Chief Launches CGDA’s Rail E-Ticketing

Pension adalat for ex-servicemen

Tribune News Service Chandigarh, December 29
As many as 500 ex-servicemen attended the Defence Pension Adalat that began at Patiala today. The adalat would serve as a platform to resolve pension-related grievances of veterans on the spot as representatives of the decision-making authorities concerned, banks and the Defence Ministry would also be present there. Being organised under the aegis of the Controller-General of Defence Accounts, Western Command, the adalat was inaugurated by Lieut-Gen VK Chaturvedi, Director-General Manpower Planning, Army Headquarters. This is the 96th such adalat to be held in the country.
Pension adalat for ex-servicemen

"Pay arrears before Diwali", Antony’s gift to the Armed Forces

The Defence Minister, Shri A K Antony lighting the lamp to inaugurate the Defence Accounts Day 2009 function, in New Delhi on October 01, 2009. The Controller General of Defence Accounts, Smt Bulbul Ghosh and the Secretary (Defence Finance), Smt Indu Liberhan are also seen. Photo no CNR- 27862
Thursday, October 01, 2009
18:47 IST
The Defence Minister Shri AK Antony has stressed that all men in the Armed Forces must get all their pay arrears relating to the Sixth Central Pay Commission well in time before Diwali. Addressing the Defence Accounts Day function here today, Shri Antony commended the officials of the Controller General of Defence Accounts for adopting computerisation and speeding-up the salary computation systems.

“One of the major challenges before you all is to render prompt, efficient and hassle free pensionary services to nearly 2 million Ex-servicemen and other retired Defence Personnel”, Shri Antony said. The Defence Minister called upon the Defence Accounts officials to implement optimally the austerity measures announced recently by the Government. “The Prime Minister has underlined the importance of service delivery mechanisms”, he added. Samir/DM/PK/RAJ
“Pay arrears before Diwali”, Antony’s gift to the Armed Forces

More MoD Press Releases

Lieutenant General PC Bhardwaj, took over as Vice Army Chief today at South Block, New Delhi.

Air Marshal LK Malhotra, today took over as the Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) at HQ Eastern Air Command, Shillong.

Air Marshal Paramjit Singh Bhangu, today took over as the new Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C), South Western Air Command (SWAC) at Gandhinagar, today.

SBI launches product for army personnel

Concessional loans, free ATM cards, credit cards
Our Bureau: hindubusinessline
New Delhi, May 31 State Bank of India has launched a new product – ‘Defence Salary Package – Army’ – that offers a bundle of free/concessional banking services to the officers and jawans of the Indian Army.

This product offering, which has already undergone a pilot run in three cantonments, includes concessional loans, free drafts, free cheque books, free fund transfer to the State Bank Group’s network of 15,000 branches besides free ATM cards, the SBI Chairman, Mr O.P. Bhatt, said here on Friday.

“Defence salary package is a gift wrapped with love from SBI employees to the Army,” Mr Bhatt said at the launch function for this new product. The Chief of Army Staff, Gen Deepak Kapoor, was present on the occasion. Mr Bhatt also said that the bank was looking at a new loan product to help jawans purchase two-wheelers by availing themselves of loans at concessional interest rates. SBI would also provide home, auto and personal loans to Army personnel at 25 basis points lower than floor rate. Also on the anvil is a SBI credit card tailor made for the armed forces.

This Defence Salary Package initiative would benefit many jawans and senior personnel of the Indian army who are posted in far-flung areas of the country and could not hitherto get good banking facilities. Once this product is rolled out to the entire army network, SBI will get about 12 lakh customers within its fold.

The Army is also at present undergoing a pilot project with the Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA) to convert its current cash system into a monthly salary payment system through bank accounts. The project includes a complete computerisation of salary records which are being maintained manually. Currently, the salary of personnel below officers rank (PBOR) of the army is paid on the “acquittance roll system” by which only their monthly requirement is paid to them in cash and the rest accumulates with the Government, usually until retirement.

SBI launches product for army personnel

Pension Benefits: Travails of a Widow

Sir,
May I bring to your notice the plight of an army officers widow and seek the views and advise of the very knowledgeable and highly experienced readers of "Report my Signals" .

The facts of the case are as follows(for keeping the privacy of the family I am ommitting the names of the concerned family):
1. Col "A" took premature retirement on 31st Dec 2007.
2. He was living in NCR region and working in a private organisation.
3. He had applied for the Commutation of his pension but the same was not paid with the other retirement dues.
4. He progressed his commutation case with the CDA for almost one year and finally the commutation was sanctioned and his Bankers PNB, who were also giving his pension, was asked to credit the amount to his account sometime on the 11 Dec 2008.
5. The bank actually credited the same on 3rd Jan 2009.
6. Unfortunately, the officer died due to heart attack on the same day- 3rd Jan 2009.
7. In the meantime the widow has been requesting the bank to pay her the family pension but the bank has been procrastinating on one ground or the other.
8. suddenly, the bank has reverted all the money from her account to itself a couple of days back (on or around 21st apr 2009) saying that the payment of the commutation money was an "over payment" as the officer had died the same day that the commutation money was credited in his account and that as per the CDA letter he should have been alive on the day the money is credited in his account and hence they have to make full recovery!.
9. not only that they have also not credited the arrears of 6th CPC which was sent by a different cheque by CDA to his account for over one month ostensibly to complete the recovery. Another Draft for Rs 50,000/- paid from AOBF has also not been credited to the acoount.
10. the money that was in her bank account in PNB in another station too has been withdrawn and confisicated by the bank.
11. In the first place the Bank has delayed creditiing the commutation money and then without any notice they have started making recovery of the same. they have not started paying her the family pension even though all the paper work that they needed has been done. moreover they have also recovered all the money that was in her bank account and have not credited the two cheques/drafts deposited by her / CDA(arrears of pay)
12. there are several question and wrongs that seem to be perpetuated by the CDA/PNB combine.
13. she has not received any notice or warning for recoevery.
no family pension has started. can they recover all the family pension at the same time?
14. all the money from her account has also been taken away by the bank to make the recovery.
15. are there no rules for banks to function in case of retired officers and their families pension payments and payment of other dues?
16. Is there any time limit laid down within which the payments sanctioned by the CDA are to be credited to the officers account?
17. can the bank affect recoverries in this fashion?

what are the remedies available to the widow now and how can she confront these insensitive people wihtout great deal of hassle? This also raises the problems we all are facing in getting our arrears and dues from SBI and get our new pension calculations worksheets which are not being provided by them. I wonder if there is a method to get redress without great deal of hassle for a lady who is now shiftd to her parents house very far away from NCR.
regards
Brig Chaitanya Prakash (Retd)

Corruption in the Armed Forces is reflection of the Nation's standard of governance

Agony of today's society is that no one is ready to believe that there can be an honest human being in present materialistic world of Glitter, Glamour and Gleam (3G).

I have tried to debate about a few cases of Army which have been hitting portal stands every now and than, but what about those which are internally being probed? There is a need for the Armed Forces to form a Tri Service Anti Corruption Committee to unearth internal wrong doings. This committee should:

Prepare dossiers of such people and keep them always under scanner

Make inter force more amalgamated and knit woven

Allow exchange of each others good and bad way of financial dealing

Allow a unique and sound financial management of all the three services where a large part is dealt by Army

Develop a healthy competition amongst services to improve records

Develop for short durations an unhealthy rivalry with presumption of spying each other ways of functioning

Measures leading to overall improvement in the Armed Forces financial credibility.

Readers would agree that until unless Indians have fears of external agencies, they become unafraid. Another agency which is more or less equally responsible for corruption is the functions of the Comptroller General of Defence Account (CGDA) in India. There is a need to make the provision in the system to carry out Surprise Checks of Accounts (SCA) and Audit of Works (AOW) of CGDA on quarterly basis at all levels; to bring this organization under one or the other part of investigating agency scanner. I also feel that the present provision of CGDA audit is not strong enough to tame the corrupt people. I would suggest that one part of the Armed Forces only should be allowed to scrutinize and carry out audit of CDA. As the CDA activities remain unchecked, and the organization staff is viewed as demi-god, until unless such a provision is made in the law, the corruption remains our main stream of Business.

I again repeat that Corruption is in our blood; statement of Shri Jagan Nath BA, nearly a decade later after India became a sovereign in 1947; and Indians have traveled nearly fifty years after that till date with a large part of society becoming corrupt and lesser struggling to remain honest. World over, I have accounted over one hundred and fifty five different movies made based on corruption as theme, where honest people are trapped by dishonest, and honest man's next generation takes nearly 25 years to prove his ancestor innocent. Same stories are most of the times are seen in real life itself where corrupt people with the help of police get away and honest who files a complaint, keeps running from one police station to other and one court to another exhausting both financially and physically.

However, as I know, the Indian Army is still out of such option but whenever a soldier or lower rank officer, junior commissioned officer, non commissioned officer or a soldier is tried for different offence of financial irregularity, he always tries to link his dismissal or severe punishment with one or the other senior offices in hierarchy. A very famous case of Indian Army Siachin Glacier Fake encounter to get awards, which had rocked the Nation, is still alive in the mind of people.

I would also like to debate a few issues of lucrative services and arms of Armed Forces world over which tempt future officers from as Gentlemen Cadets (GC) during training itself. Barring United Kingdom and United States of America where larger number of GC opt for glamorous and action thrilled service, but most of the Asians, South Africans and Middle East countries have shown new generation trends opting first for Services and logistics, ordnances and other supplies service, mechanical engineering of transport , thereafter as second choice the fighting arms and Infantry being last in the Preferred Order of Choice (POC). Even now Indian Military Academy has given various incentives to candidates to join infantry. As per the media reports, in June 2007 out of over four hundred GC passing out Parade, where President APJ Abdul Kalam took the salute, out of five best GCs, only one GC had applied for the services and none for Infantry.

The falling POC indicates about the change of mind set of new generation from changed theme of National Patriotism (NP) to Comforts of Life (COL). It is the COL which takes precedence over sacrifices and survival. It indicates the tilt towards individual officer's future course of action and line he is going to follow. The POC of new generation is so materialistic oriented that sometimes it becomes difficult for judges also to differentiate between arms to be allotted. Now a days PCO is governed by:

Comfortable life after commissioning;

Availabilities of opportunities to be exploited;

Less harsher and physically tough life demanding less body and mind exercises;

Most important family life after marriage;

Now days most of the youths join forces to fill the tummy

Youths become Patriotic by Default (PBD), thus, their POC is guided by Comforts of Post Commission Life (CPCL)

I would be sharing some of the findings of corruption in Army during my survey from previous three months:

1. A very common and famous saying especially by corrupt people is prevalent in the Army that is Quote "one, who does not get an opportunity is honest; otherwise ....". The same quote is also being circulated in every Government Office in the entire India as well.

2. As most of the corruption cases which are being investigated within Army involves various department dealing with Supplies, equipment procurement, building construction and accommodations. In addition, of late a new scandal has rocked Army Medical Corps also. In nut shell the places where procurement and supply for forces is involved, the corruption is prevalent.

Readers would agree with me that corruption in Army is mainly attributed to outside environment prevailing in the country. Various factors which affect corruption in Army would be debated in the next episiode. Request my readers to share their views at s_kalpna@hotmail.com

I, S Kalpna Sharma, am a freelance journalist who frequently writes on various issues relating to human values. My impetus of debate has been always focused on current issues which affect human life and social behavior. Whenever I debate on human values, my readers support base has widened.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=S_Kalpna_Sharma
Corruption in Army

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