SCPC: Precedence games played with pay scales

On popular demand, I am enclosing comments on the Central Warrant of Precedence that is presently applicable. This WoP is only till the rank of Major General and below this the old warrant of 1937 is valid till date as confirmed by the Ministry of Home Affairs. (Link given below)

Taking into account the 6th CPC, things to ponder in view of the WoP:

The 6th CPC has equated the Senior Administrative Grade (SAG) of the Civil Services with a Major General. This is incorrect. Only those officers of the SAG can be equated with Major Generals who are empanelled and holding the appointment of a Joint Secretary to Govt of India, and that too only for ceremonial purposes. (Please see Article 26 and Note-1 below it). It is a Joint Secretary GOI who is equated with a Maj Gen for ceremonial purposes and not all SAG officers. There are many SAG officers but not all are Joint Secretaries in Govt of India.

The 6th CPC has taken the WoP as a basis for determination of pay scales and status and that is the reason for equating a GOI Joint Secretary’s pay with a Maj Gen (Both on Article 26). The same was done by earlier CPCs too. Keeping that in view, now how do they justify a fixed pay of Rs 80,000 for DG of CPOs and a lesser pay of Rs 39200-67000 (with Grade Pay of Rs 11000) to Lt Generals ? A Lt Gen is on Article 24 while a DG of a CPO is on Article 25!. In fact, a Maj Gen posted as a PSO (as was the case in the past) is equated with a CPO DG on Article 25.

How has the same pay of Rs 80,000 been recommended for an Army Commander (GOC-in-C) and DsG of CPOs ? An Army Commander is on Article 23 while the latter is two steps below on Article 25.

The pay of a Lt Gen (Article 24 of WoP) has been kept at Rs 39200-67000 (with a Grade Pay of Rs 11000) which is lesser than even the pay of a DG of State Police who has the same pay-scale with a Grade Pay of Rs 13000. A DGP of State Police does not even feature on the Central Warrant of Precedence. In fact, the pay of a Lt Gen has now been linked to the pay of an Addl DGP of States who has also been placed in the same pay band with a Grade Pay of 11000. Needless to say, an Addl DG also is nowhere near the Central WoP.

Maj Navdeep Singh
Advocate, Punjab & Haryana High Court

Central Warrant of Precedence
Indian Military Service Benefits and Issues

SCPC: Fast for Justice

Dear Brothers,
As you already know that as part of ‘Pan India’ movement against great injustice and humiliation being heaped up on the Defence Services, by the 6th Pay Commission, a “FAST FOR JUSTICE” is being observed on 27 MAY 2008 between 10AM and 6PM at MAJOR S SHANKLA MEMORIAL, SECTOR- 2, PANCHKULA, by all our organisations.

Kindly be present to show our solidarity and observe the fast to press home the demands and inform all others to do the same.

Yours' Sincerely,
Brig Harwant Singh (Retd)
Organising Secretary

Demands and Core Issues of Two Million Ex- Servicemen

1. One-Rank-One-Pension (OROP)
The Sixth Pay Commission has summarily discarded what we had achieved after decades of struggle. We wish to re-iterate the point that the soldiers retire at a very early age and their case must be de-linked with their civilian counterparts who serve upto the age of sixty. This issue merits consideration by the Union Cabinet.

2. Resettlement of Ex- Servicemen
An overwhelming number of our veterans are jobless. Pension is their sole means of livelihood. With the passage of time their nutrition levels fall and that lowers their life expectancy. Without work, their lives lose meaning, and they are considered a burden by their kinsfolk. There is a crying need to introduce a “Transition Assistance Program” (TAP) on the lines of the practice followed in the USA.

3. Representation of Soldiers on Premier Committees
We are pained to learn that the government rejected the appeal of the Service Chiefs to appoint a soldier as a member of the Sixth Pay Commission. It gave us an impression that the country does not trust the soldiers. The committee appointed to ‘resolve’ the issues is also composed of officers from a single cadre of civil servants. We wish to state unequivocally that we have lost faith in the bureaucracy to do justice to our cause. The Defence Secretary has never worn uniform. How will he know where the shoe pinches?

4. Inequities in the Report of Sixth Pay Commission
The report is heavily biased against the soldier. It shows complete lack of knowledge of the working environment and the ethos of the Military. The Military Service pay (MSP) recommended for all ranks from Sepoy to the Subedar Major is Rs 1000 as against Rs 6000 granted to a greenhorn Lieutenant. How will the Commanding Officer be able to justify this? A similar aberration has been created in the salaries of the middle level officers, merely to keep them below the civil services.

5. Formation of A Commission for Defence Service.

What Military Personnel do for a Living?

Men who are trained to fight for the Nation
Also know how to fight for their own rights.
-Maj Gen Surjit Singh

Real difficulties can be overcome; it is only the imaginary ones that are unconquerable.
-Theodore N. Vail

Some people still don't understand why military personnel do what they do for a living. This exchange between Senators John Glenn and Howard Metzenbaum is worth reading. Not only is it a pretty impressive impromptu speech, but it's also a good example of one man's explanation of why men and women in the armed services do what they do for a living. This IS a typical, though sad, example of what some who have never served think of the military.

Senator Metzenbaum to Senator Glenn: "How can you run for Senate when you've never held a "real job?"

Senator Glenn: "I served 23 years in the United States Marine Corps. I served through two wars. I flew 149 missions. My plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire on 12 different occasions. I was in the Space Program. It wasn't my checkbook, Howard; it was my life on the line. It was not a nine to five job, where I took time off to take the daily cash receipts to the bank. I ask you to go with me... as I went the other day... to a Veterans Hospital and look those men- with their mangled bodies- in the eye, and tell THEM they didn't hold a job!

You go with me to the Space Program at NASA and go, as I have gone, to the widows and orphans of Ed White, Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee... and you look those kids in the eye and tell them that their DADS didn't hold a job. You go with me on Memorial Day and you stand in Arlington National Cemetery, where I have more friends buried than I'd like to remember, and you watch those waving flags. You stand there, and you think about this Nation, and you tell ME that those people didn't have a job? I'll tell you, Howard Metzenbaum, you should be on your knees every day of your life thanking God that there were some men- SOME MEN- who held a REAL job. And they required a dedication to a purpose- and a love of country and a dedication to duty- that was more important than life itself. And their self- sacrifice is what made this country possible.

I HAVE held a job, Howard! --- What about you?"

Inspirational Quotes