Tamilnadu in the Flag Day Fund Collection Overdrive?

From: Mrs. Usha Sundar, W/o Lt Col CR Sundar (Retd) dated 01 Nov 2012 from Chennai
To: The Collector, Kanchipuram District.
IRREGULARITIES IN RESPECT OF FLAG DAY FUND COLLECTION IN REGIONAL TRANSPORT OFFICES (RTO) OF TAMIL NADU
Sir,
1. I have attached herewith a copy of an article published in the popular Tamil Weekly ‘Anandha Vikatan’ dated 24/10/2012.
2. There are serious allegations against all RTOs of Tamil Nadu in the said article. As per the article the RTO’s are indulging in a ‘collection spree’ called ‘flag charge’. Instead of the stipulated Rs 36/- they extort Rs. 250/- for a two-wheeler and Rs. 500/- for a four-wheeler. For grant of ‘fitness certificates’ (FC) the rate is Rs. 500/- for medium sized vehicles, Rs. 750/- for buses and lorries and Rs. 1,000/- for heavier vehicles. These rates are for non-defective vehicles. Defective vehicles are charged double.
3. As a member of the public I am very concerned. But as the wife of a retired Army Officer I am pained and angry.
4. Flag Day Fund was set up in 1949 by the Defence Minister’s Committee. In 1993 the Defence Ministry of India consolidated all related welfare funds into Armed Forces Flag Day Fund. Its purposes are Rehabilitation of battle casualties, Welfare of serving personnel and their families and Resettlement and welfare of Ex Servicemen and their families. Fund collection is managed throughout the country by the local arms of Kendriya Sainik Boards (KSB).
5. RTOs of Tamil Nadu are not collection agencies. But they are collecting huge amounts throughout the year and misusing the funds.
6. You as the collector are aware that Ex Servicemen are a deprived lot, and find it very hard to survive in the civilian world.. Every year 7 Dec is commemorated as ‘Flag Day’ and certain formalities are conducted in every DSSA Board in the state .Money is collected in their cause but one never gets to hear anything about the amounts collected, or the ways in which these funds were distributed (if at all) among ESM. We request you to verify the report and take necessary action against the culprits involved.
7. Ex Servicemen are treated with the highest honour and respect elsewhere in the world.. Here in India, especially in Tamil Nadu we are told that State- run offices and officers are looting the general public in the name of those Veterans who gave the best years of their life in the defence of their motherland. It is the ultimate treachery.
8. The ‘Serving Fraternity of officers and the Ministry of Defence’ and the Retired Generals living in Tamil Nadu must work together to stop this sort of Disrespect and Dishonour to the Ex Servicemen and their dependents and widows. Thank You,
Yours faithfully,
Sd/- (Ms.Usha Sundar)
Copy to:
1. The Asst Dir, DSSA Board Tambaram.
2. The AFA, Air Force Station Tambaram.
3. GOC, ATNK&K Area Chennai.
4. The Editor, Anandha Vikatan, Chennai.
Comment: Thalsidar Offices who hand out death certificates are also involved in this racket. There is no control over these State Agencies who are in the money spinning mode and cheating the poor citizens of India into believing these funds are helping Ex Servicemen!

Veterans lead in the anti- corruption crusade

Anna Hazare, VK Singh want Parliament dissolved
Published: Tuesday, Oct 30, 2012, 4:06 IST
By DNA Correspondent | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA
The country is set to witness another round of yatras by social activist Anna Hazare and his team from January 30, the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Until then, Anna will scout for people willing to join his team to trudge across the nation to help people select “right political candidates” for the 2014 general elections.
Anna and former army chief General VK Singh, who were in the city on Monday, addressed the media. “We will tell people to select political candidates on the basis of character, capacity and desire to serve people,” said Anna.
The two criticised the government and sought its dismissal “for not working for the people”. They charged the government of not protecting the people, not working for their welfare and being influenced by market-driven policies.
“We want the government to be dissolved as it is only slapping its neo-liberal policies on the people. While the preamble of the Constitution says that it is ‘by the people’, the people are not heard,” said Singh.
“The gap between the rich and poor is increasing as politicians are serving themselves and not the country,” said Hazare who advocated “pursuing of black money instead of taking loans from banks to better the economy”.
Anna also slammed the central investigation agency, the CBI, and reiterated the need for stronger laws while demanding judicial inquiry in recent allegations against BJP national president Nitin Gadkari. “People earn money for seven generations and go to jail for a few months. We need stronger laws to deter people,” he said.
As for his former associate, Arvind Kejriwal, Anna said that they had same goal but the means were different.
Speaking of Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, Anna said if Modi was against corruption, he should have introduced the Lok Ayukta in his state.
Anna Hazare, VK Singh want Parliament dissolved
Comment: Many retired Generals become arm chair Military advisers or remain silent spectators when the nation is truly becoming a banana republic. Will Generals lead the citizens and farmers to true democracy or enjoy the cosy comfort of their homes by spinning more money?

Good Governance: MP's and Gandhi Jayanthi

The worst thing about indian Judiciary and politicians is that corrupt MP's are never ever convicted and their cases never end. Shame on Indian Parliamentarians who try to sabotage honest uprising against their corrupt deeds.
The criminalization of politics continues to be a very big concern, with an increase in the number of MPs with criminal records from 128 to 150. Even the number of MPs with serious criminal cases has gone up. The biggest reason for this seems to be the undemocratic and autocratic selection and nomination of candidates by political parties. In order to ensure the winnability of candidates, parties ignored honesty to give preference to muscle power and money power. As media reports seem to indicate, the misuse of monetary incentives to buy votes has increased sharply since last elections and continues to be a source of threat to real democracy. While voter awareness on this issue is very high, the problem is that those who win after spending huge amounts are unlikely to focus on good governance. They are more likely to focus on recovering the funds they spent and on giving favours to those who supported their campaigns.
For more details: Indian MP's with Criminal Offences - A list

Arms dealer Abhishek Verma links Lt Gen in the Racket

Rajesh Ahuja of Indian Military news
27 Sep 2012
Controversial arms dealer Abhishek Verma has told the CBI that a retired Lt-Gen, who has been under investigation in another bribery case, was on his payroll, sources disclosed.
The CBI had questioned Verma in connection with a case registered under the Official Secrets Act (OSA).
The agency has alleged that more than half a dozen documents classified as secrets were found in Ganton Ltd employees’ possession. Ganton is allegedly a front company of Verma.
“Verma claimed that a senior retired army officer of the Lt-Gen rank became his consultant of sorts. The arms dealer was allegedly paying Rs. 2 lakh a month in cash to the officer. The officer was once posted in an intelligence agency of the defence ministry. We are checking whether he was on Verma’s payroll before he retired. He may have supplied classified documents to Verma or employees of his front company,” an official said.
According to sources, after Verma’s statement, the Lt-Gen in question was also grilled. The officer accepted that he got monthly cash payments from Verma for his ‘consultancy’ services.
Besides the OSA case, Verma is facing CBI probes in three new cases – for getting money from arms firm, for influencing public servants and for forging letters of sports minister Ajay Maken and a CBI official.
All these cases were filed against Verma in the last few months based on documents supplied by his US-based attorney C Edmond Allen. A CBI team will visit the US next month to record Allen’s statement in this regard.
Comments:

Prince (18:52:18) : Atleast in this case,Verma is probably telling the whole truth. Logical conclusion of this case would result in a generating fear in potential offenders of this category !

COL LAMBA (08:13:26) : MAKE NAME OF LT GEN[TRAITOR] PUBLIC & FIX HIM.RS 2 LAC PM IN CASH ,DISGRACEFUL GEN

chwanken (18:53:40) : Obviously Lt Gen is same who offered 14 crores!!!
Abhishek Verma claims retd Lt-Gen was on payroll
Connect with earlier post
Tejinder Singh suffers from Amnesia- Forgets all his Dealers

OROP: Protest Rally at Jantar Mantar

“DEFENCE VETERANS AGAINST INJUSTICE”
VISHAL RALLY AT JANTAR MANTAR NEW DELHI ON 01 DEC 2012 Dear Veterans,
Dated : 28 Sep 2012
1. The Govt has not only 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. Recommendations of Rajya Sabha Petition Committee on OROP strongly recommending OROP to Defence Personnel have not been implemented.
OROP issue which has been duly analysed for over 7 months by members of parliament, was assigned to a Committee of Secretaries who had earlier given evidence to Rajya Sabha Committee against the grant of OROP. What could be expected from them? PM, RM and the three Chiefs were apprised of it.
On 24th Sep 2012 (Evening) the Govt misled the soldiers and the Nation when they announced that OROP has been approved. In fact the approval is nowhere close to the OROP.>
The Government has only removed one serious anomaly of 6th CPC where the bureaucracy had manipulated the recommendation of 6 CPC i.e “minimum of pay of the Rank in the Pay band was changed to Minimum pay of the Pay Band”. In addition for Sepoy to Hav, they have given two years additional weightage which means an increase of only Rs 400 per month.
The demand by three Chiefs to include members from the serving and retired Defence personnel in the Committee was not accepted.
2. Our struggle to get Justice therefore, will be continued with increased intensity. With the above in mind, a Rally has been planned to be held at Jantar Mantar New Delhi on 01 Dec 2012 from 1030 – 1530hrs. All ESM who have not deposited their medals are requested to do so in large numbers. Medals can be collected area wise and brought to the Rally or individual ESM may deposit their medals at the rally site.
3. Future course of action and resolutions will be collectively passed at the Rally to ensure that we get our due Justice. This Rally in Delhi is being held to showcase the continued apathy and mistreatment meted to the military and to impress upon the Government to see the writings on the wall and act fast to address all grievances of Defence personnel expeditiously.
4. In last ten years, the Defence Forces have suffered a lot of ignominies and humiliations due to apathetic attitude of the Government. and the bureaucracy. The government is mistaken if it thinks that by dragging its feet on the issue of the Armed Forces dissatisfaction with the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission, it can make the issue go away.
5. A country that refuses to respect its armed forces will eventually end up getting forces that will not respect the nations' aspirations. A country makes a sacred contract with its soldiers that while he/she will lay down his/her life when called upon to do so, the nation will take good care of his/her and his/her family's needs to the extent its resources would permit.
6. Besides the Rally schedule, it is proposed to take out a March of 3 – 4 Km on a designated route. It is also planned to prepare a vehicle platform on which gallantry and Distinguished Service Medals number approx 10 thousand which have already been deposited with us by volunteer ESM and a large number which will be deposited on the day of the Rally will be respectfully placed in a “Show Case” separately made for the purpose. This will be placed at the Rally Site and moved along with scheduled March during the Rally. Subsequently, it is planned to move the vehicle along with the “Show Cased Medals” at various locations in the NCR for a period of 5 – 7 days. Four volunteer ESM will always escort the medals on the vehicle.
7. IESM Conveners in nearby states i.e. Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Himachal, Uttrakhand, UP who desire to parade the vehicle with Medals in their respective States may write to IESM HQ, at 543 Sector 23, Gurgaon (Haryana) on mail ID: satbirsm(at)gmail(dot)com The vehicle would be planned to be dispatched to the volunteer states for a period of 3-4 days.
8. Plan now to keep 01 Dec 2012 free for yourself and the family members and make sure that you all attend the above Rally in large numbers. Your participation is essential to Show Case the collective strength of Defence Veterans to get our due Justice.
9. MUST join the rally to ensure “sure win” against the Injustice.
“Manjle Bahut Hongi, Karvan Bahut Honge,
Bhirh Wahan Hogi, Jhan Sikandar Honge”
With Regards,
Jai Hind
Yours Sincerely,
Maj Gen (Retd) Satbir Singh, SM
Vice Chairman Indian ESM Movement
Defence Ministry Counter Attack
Pension hike step towards one rank-one pension: Def Ministry- Press Trust of India / New Delhi September 26, 2012, 19:25- click here

OROP a minuscule compared to Rs 42,000 crores of Power Loss

MoD slams criticism of pension hike
Ajay Banerjee/TNS
New Delhi, September 27, 2012
A day after groups of ex-servicemen termed the government hike in pension for armed forces personnel as ‘misleading’, authorities in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) yesterday retorted by saying this was the third hike in pension in the past four years.
A detailed chart of the financial benefits given to ex-servicemen since October 2008 is being calculated and will be released soon, said sources.
“Our aim is to cover the gap in pensions in a phased manner. This is the third increase in pension of ex-servicemen after the Sixth Central Pay Commission award was announced in October 2008,” authoritative sources said.
MoD slams criticism of pension hike

Ex-servicemen’s just demand
Government gets close to the goal by Inder Malhotra
OF late the media, especially newspapers and social networks, have been full of articles on the armed forces and their “discontents”. Since the authors of most of these are retired generals, air marshals and, occasionally, admirals, they refer more to the complaints and disgruntlements of highest military officers rather than of Other Ranks. Yet rare is any writing on the subject that hasn’t lamented the government’s heartless and over long failure to attend to the just demand of ex-servicemen for equal rank, equal pension, or OROP, for short.
Over this period one has had to witness not just virulent agitation on the issue but also such heart rending scenes as the nation’s defenders marching to Rashtrapati Bhavan to return their gallantry medals to the Supreme Commander, the President.
Thank God, this ordeal is now over. The government has at long last done justice to two and a half million ex-servicemen whose number increases by 70,000 every year. The key point is that these men retire an early age and have to exist on meagre pensions while other retirees of the same rank get higher or lower pensions depending on their dates of retirement.
A good proportion of the retirees could have been absorbed in the paramilitary forces, to great advantage both to them and the country. But this has not been possible, despite the best attempts of several defence ministers and others, because the monster of corruption has taken over the recruitment to not only the police forces in various states but also the Centre’s paramilitary organisations. Even the sleaziest of recruiters find it hard to ask retiring Army men for bribes, and so they are ineligible.
Lest the Army should start assuming superior airs on this score, let me hasten to add that on the admission of the best and the brightest within its own higher ranks, corruption in recruitment has contaminated the Army, too. As for other form of graft and malfeasance in the uniformed world, the evidence is littered across the country’s law courts or is stacked on the desks of the Central Bureau of Investigation.
On the merits of the government’s decision on OROP, there are two views. Some say that having gone thus far, the government could have gone a little farther and met the demand for one-rank-one-pension in full. They argue that this would not have added very much to the present package of Rs 2,300 crore which is a pittance compared with Rs 42,000 crore the government has generously offered the State Electricity Boards than which it is difficult to think of institutions more inefficient and corrupt. Having bankrupted themselves, they have run into debts amounting to the staggering figure of nearly Rs 2 lakh crore.
The debt recasting, even if it is achieved — the states have yet to agree to bear half the burden — would not solve the problem. For, no chief minister would stop the overuse and misuse of free power guaranteed to the farmers. Moreover, nobody would dare say boo to the crooks with clout that are stealing a huge quantity of power with impunity. It is, of course, written off as part of “distribution and transmission losses”.
Even so, there is a perfectly valid counter-argument to justify what the government has done. It has, it seems, gone as far as it could have or should have. After all, the amount of pension depends not only on the rank but also the last pay drawn. The salaries of the two men of the same rank and superannuating on the same day often differ because of the length of service in the last rank reached.
The Cabinet on Monday could have decided also on several issues concerning the pay, perks and pensions of lt-colonels, colonels, brigadiers and even lt-generals that have also been pending. But evidently, the committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary that examined the entire issue has not been able to complete its recommendations on these points.
What the government has got out of the way is very important, no doubt, but it was essentially a sideshow. The real problem, on which the armed forces’ resentment is perfectly legitimate, is the composition of the successive Pay Commissions appointed to fix the salaries and concomitant allowances of both the civilians and the military.
Click here to read the full article

Restrictions on Defence Officers joining firms

Govt mulling restrictions on defence officers on joining firms
Press Trust of India / New Delhi September 15, 2012, 18:45
Against the backdrop of cases of alleged involvement of former militray officers in defence scams, the Government is considering a proposal to impose restrictions on services personnel joining private arms companies post retirement.
A proposal in this regard has been prepared and is expected to be sent to the armed forces in the near future for their views on the issue, sources said here.
The biggest worry of the Government is about officers working in procurement and acquisition directorates of the ministry and the services and joining arms companies as consultants soon after retirement, they said.
Recently, Defence Minister A K Antony had stated that the Government was "seriously considering" a Standing Committee recommendation to bar services officers from joining private sector five years after their retirement.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence had recommended that cooling off period should be five years from the present one year.
The cooling off period was earlier two years but it was reduced to one year.
After the allegations levelled by former Army Chief Gen V K Singh against Lt Gen Tejinder Singh for lobbying for Tatra trucks, the Standing Committee had said that some of the retired defence officers act as a middlemen for defence procurement.
It recommended that cooling off period needs to be increased to five years for officers of the rank of Brigadier and above, and their equivalents.
Govt mulling restrictions on defence officers on joining firms
Comment
nimesh (Delhi) 15 Sep, 2012 08:55 PM
These defense officer guys are scamming the tax payer worse than corrupt babus. Like people the world over we indians revere the 'Jawans', but these corrupt officers are a scourge on the nation. They are making crores from the defense budget while the poor have nothing to eat. AK Antony is a great minister. May he succeed in his mission to clean up the defense ministry.
Moderator Comment
Generally senior officers (Brigs, Maj Gens and Lt Gens) who have six or more tenures in Delhi (and who are generally medically unfit) are prone to build up nexus with corrupt politicians, bureaucrats and munition suppliers. Many of these Officers have links with relatives of politicians who are into the business of arms procurement for the Military and Police establishments including paramilitary with the intent of making a 10% to 25% commission on weapon purchases. These commissions find their way to secret Swiss banks. Senior Officers who are medically unfit and repeatedly seeking a posting in Delhi must be boarded out. All Senior Officers posted in AHQ must be monitored by the CBI for clandestine activities and pursuing 5 star culture.
More Valid Inputs
1. The main beneficiaries from arms/equipment deals are the politicians; thousands of crores. Next come the bureaucrats. Some Army officers may get a few lacs. It is very easy and news making to set up news items against Service officers and put restrictions on them. This also deflects focus from the prime beneficiaries as mentioned above. WILL THEY PUT SAME RESTRICTIONS ON DY/JT SECRETARIES, ADDITIONAL SECRETARIES!!
2. The world over Defence Officers are employed by companies dealing with Defence Equipment. In India lately considerable officers of middle rank, Brigadiers/Cols/Lt Cols/Majors have found such employment. Many Signals officers have done so too. All are aware that Officers retire early and it is essential for them to have second career so that they can settle their children. Such restrictions will adversely affect them. Very few generals get employed.