In a first, Indian Armed Forces to have separate pay commission

 New Delhi: In a first, Indian Armed Forces will have a separate pay commission that will deal with the pay revision and benefits granted to the defence personnel only.  Giving in to the demands of the three services chiefs, who had written to the Defence Minister AK Antony last year complaining about the anomalies in the sixth pay commission, the Central government has agreed to delink the pay revision of defence personnel from the civilian employees and constitute a separate pay commission for the military personnel this year.

The reports of a first exclusive pay commission for the military comes as the government has today announced the Seventh Pay Commission for 80 lakh central government employees and pensioners. Its recommendations are likely to be implemented with effect from January 1, 2016.

 

Though the government had agreed to cater to the demands of Armed Forces, the three services chiefs registered strong objection to the fact that there was no military representative on the panel set up by the Prime Minister to look into demands of the forces for pay parity with civil servants.  The panel set up by the PM in July had four IAS officers as its members and was headed by the Cabinet Secretary.

 

The main demand of the Armed Forces is granting of Non-functional upgrade in the pay to the armed forces on the lines of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and the fact that it would be decided only by the IAS officers did not go down well with the military chiefs. “Unlike IAS where all civil servants retire as Additional Secretaries, the hierarchy structure in the armed forces is very steep. Not more than 20 percent of the people make it beyond the rank of Brigadiers,” reports quoted a Army personnel as saying.

The military personnel’s other demands are granting of One Rank One Pension for retired personnel and One Rank One Pay for those still serving. The Armed Forces also clamoured for fixing rank pay and fixing pay structure for Personnel Below Officer Rank (PBOR) and junior commissioned officers (JCOs). Reacting to the complaint, the Defence Minister had written to the Prime Minister saying there was "growing discontentment among the services personnel due to the anomalies in fixation of payment and salaries."

Antony conveyed to the PM that the defence personne, ex-servicemen and the pensioners were “agitated” over the pay anomalies and “corrective measures” must be taken soon. The government has so far constituted six pay commissions but it will be the first time since independence that a separate pay commission will be created to look into the pay revisions of defence personnel.

The government constitutes Pay Commission almost every ten years to revise the pay scales of its employees and often these are adopted by states after some modification

 

(Source-Zee Media Bureau/Supriya Jha)
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Form separate Pay Commission for armed forces: SC to govt

Slamming the Centre for making army personnel run from pillar to post on their salary disputes, the Supreme Court today directed the government to examine the idea of setting up a separate Pay Commission for both serving and retired personnel of the armed forces. A Bench of Justices Markandeya Katju and T S Thakur, asked Attorney General G E Vahanvati and Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium to seek instructions from the government as to whether it was open to the idea of a separate pay commission that could be headed by a retired Chief Justice of India or a judge of the Supreme Court.

"The day the soldiers are forced to fight for their salaries, it would be a sad day for the country," the Bench said quoting Chanakya's advise to Emperor Chandragupta Maurya. The apex court said the sane advise of Chanakya was valid even today and it was unfortunate that army personnel are forced to knock the doors of the court for rectifying their salary anomalies. "Army people are a disciplined lot. They cannot go on agitation like others. They should not be forced to fight for their salaries, it is not good for the country.

"It is very unfortunate that today many army people are unhappy. I know thousands of army personnel returning their medals in protest. There was an instance when a senior officer frustrated with the government's approach, even burnt his artificial limb as a protest. Why do you allow such things?" the Bench said. The apex court made the remarks while dealing with a petition filed by certain serving and retired army officers challenging the reported refusal of the government to accord them enhanced "rank pay" as recommended by the Fifth Pay Commission. Counsel Kailash Chand and Ramesh K Haritash appeared for the army personnel.

Though Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium tried to make his submission, the Bench pointed out that in recent years a number of armed forces personnel were moving the courts to get their salary grievances addressed. "The present Pay Commission for them is headed by bureaucrats. They may not be able to understand their problems. It is a burning issue. Why don't you allow them to let their steam out by appointing a Commission instead of making them move from pillar to post. You can appoint a retired Chief Justice of India or a retired Suprem Court judge," the Bench said.

Responding to the suggestion Subramanium said he would seek instructions from the Government on the court's suggestion for a separate Commission within four weeks. Accordingly, the apex court recorded the undertaking and posted the matter for further hearing to October 18.

(Source - Indian Express- 08 Sep 10)
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Air Force Corporal's Example To The Nation - by R. KRISHNA KUMAR

The Hindu

EPITOME OF INTEGRITY: Despite 

being in need of money, retired Air ForceCorporal Charles Williams wants 

to return the excess money credited to his pension 

 account.

At a time when scams are becoming common, the exemplary honesty and integrity of a retired Indian Air 

Force corporal is hard to ignore.

Charles Williams, 89, a World War II veteran from Mysore and who’s in poor health, wants to return the excess money credited to his pension account.Mr. Williams joined the Royal Air Force in pre-Independent India. After being recruited, he was sent to Lahore for a six-week pre-induction training after which he was posted at Agra. Within days, Mr. Williams was sent to Burma where he saw action against the Japanese.“Though in the RAF, our unit saw a lot of ground battle and we dug in and stayed put in the trenches. We were holed up for weeks without regular supply of food and water. The battle that raged was horrific with soldiers getting maimed and killed in the heavy exchange of fire. But ultimately we prevailed,” recalled Mr. Williams.After retirement, he found certain anomaly in his pension and complained that he was being underpaid. “A visit to the local Sainik Welfare and Resettlement Board did not help me much as officials are apathetic to the grievances of ex-servicemen,” according to Mr. Williams, who then approached M.N. Subramani, president, VeKare Ex-Servicemen Trust in Mysore.

But calculations showed that the Centralised Pension Processing Centre of State Bank of Mysore, Mangalore, had credited Mr. Williams’ account with excess money.Mr. Subramani said he was being credited with Rs. 300 towards fixed medical allowances to which he was not entitled. He was credited with Rs. 15,200 in excess with effect from July 2007.“When this was brought to the notice of Mr. Williams, he asked me to inform the bank to recover the amount in 15 equal instalments so as not to put him in financial hardship,” said Mr. Subramani.What is ironic is that Mr. Williams is returning the medical allowance when he needs it the most. He is visually impaired and desperately needs Rs. 1.5 lakh for a heart operation. “When I am not entitled for something, the national exchequer should not be made to bear the burden,” said Mr. Williams, whose only request was that the excess amount be deducted in instalments.Meanwhile, Mr. Subramani has mailed a letter to SBM, Mangalore, drawing their attention to the anomaly.

 At your service, but how long?

Anil Kaul urges the bureaucracy to accept that ‘One Rank One Pension’ is a just demand

Veterans, my friend, have to choose between being forgotten, mocked or used. As for being understood: Never. — Albert Camus

THE ENTIRE philosophy of handling the affairs of the armed forces and veterans needs an overhaul. By its attitude and deeds, the bureaucracy is ensuring that the atmosphere gets vitiated — once this happens, disaster can overtake the nation sooner than later. The trust of the nation — and the consideration soldiers deserve after the sacrifices they make with a smile — is missing. No amount of these half-hearted measures will be helpful unless this trust deficit is addressed and there is a total attitudinal change of the bureaucracy from ‘Squeeze the last ounce of blood of the soldier in times of emergency and once the job is done hang them’ should change to ‘Give the best to the soldiers as they are doing the most onerous duties for the nation’.

The soldier has to be made to believe that the entire nation is behind him to take care of him while he is ready to make supreme sacrifice. It must be done fast and before he starts asking: ‘Who am I sacrificing my life for? If this is their attitude then why should I sacrifice myself?’

To ensure that such a situation does not arise, there is an urgent requirement for grant of ‘One Rank One Pension’ (OROP) immediately. Thirty years is time long enough for anybody to wait for a basic problem.

Pension as defined by the Supreme Court is not pay but payment for services rendered. The OROP demand was authored way back in 1981 but remains unsolved. The definition of OROP has already been discussed in detail by the government and the Rajya Sabha Petition Committee headed by Bhagat Singh Koshyari and accepted as under:

The pre-1 January 2006 retirees got the same pensions as the post-1 January 2006 retirees by matching up the three factors that govern the pensions of ex-servicemen, i.e., the rank, the length of service and the trade (in case of all ranks below officer rank only). After this was effected, any future increases be automatically applied to old pensioners. The family, disability and dependents’ pensions are included for purposes of this definition. This, however, does not mean the grant of pensionary benefits such as DCRG and additional value of commutation pension.

This definition by no stretch of imagination includes annual increments in pensions as is given to serving soldiers. Not at all.

Notwithstanding the Rajya Sabha Committee Report being presented on 19 December 2011, is the general public aware that in 2013, a post-2006 retiree brigadier (equivalent deputy secretary) will get more pension than post-2006 retiree major generals (equivalent to a joint secretary). The protection clause for the Major Generals would have to be applied or Military Service Pay will have to be extended to Major Generals. This is the mess created by the Sixth Pay Commission. Now compare this with pre-2006 retirees. Pension of post-2012 retiree colonels (equivalent to a director), both time scale and selection grade, is Rs 35,841 whereas pre-2006 retiree major generals’ pension is Rs 26,700.You cannot have three-ranks juniors getting far more pension than the seniors. The OROP was asked for by defence personnel because ours is a rank-based hierarchy and our terms and conditions are unique and different from any other profession. As such, we want the same class of defence personnel is same rank and same years of service who are living today should get the same pension irrespective of the date of retirement and should continue to get same pension in perpetuity.

In their desperation to fool the unwary veterans, the bureaucrats had added the matter of annual increment in pension as per the serving soldiers to the award of OROP. This matter was being flaunted as the biggest stumbling block in grant of OROP.

EX-SERVICEMEN, IN fact, do not want annual increment in pensions as this is not right. The serving soldier gets his annual increment for additional year’s service: How can a pensioner claim the same for his retired service?

OROP means full parity with the latest rates of pension for past pensioners. Once granted, there are no increments till another revision by a Central Pay Commission or a Committee. A paper prepared by ex-servicemens’ organisations for the defence minister on OROP is available on demand. All those who wish to have its copy can be sent one on request. The most important is Chapter 5, which encapsulates all the lies that bureaucrats have been speaking over the past 30 years to scuttle OROP, together with the truth. This was given to the Koshiyari Committee also, which made good use of the information by exposing the lies of the bureaucrats and rejecting them with the contempt these deserved.

Successive governments in the past had claimed that OROP was untenable and the costs exhorbitant. The anomaly was created by the Fifth and Sixth Pay Commissions. The Congress had promised OROP in its poll manifesto in 2004. However, the UPA government rejected the OROP demand in December 2008, after which ex-servicemen returned their gallantry medals to the President and made open overtures towards the BJP. Following protracted protests, a committee was set up under the chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary KM Chandrasekhar to review OROP issues. Interestingly, it was announced ahead of the parliamentary polls in Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan, which contribute thousands of soldiers to the three services.

On the basis of the panel’s suggestion, the Centre has now agreed to substantially hike the pension of junior commissioned officers and other ranks. The pension of such personnel who retired before 10 October 1997 (implementation date for the Fifth Pay Commission recommendations) will be brought at par with the pension of those retired after that date.

The pension of those retired before 1 January, 2006 — including the 1997 group — will be substantially hiked to come close to those who retired after the cut-off date of 1 January 2006 (implementation date for the Sixth Pay Commission). This is not OROP but better defined as near parity. Implementation of one rank one pension will put a ‘financial burden’ of Rs 1,300 crore on the government, wrote a journalist.Kaul, a retired officer, is the author of Better Dead Than Disabled. The views expressed here are personal.

(Source-anjh Morcha)

Failing India’s Veterans -Retired armed forces officers are being pushed to politicisation by an uncaring government -Arun Prakash

The public handholding between a former general with an opposition political leader earned swift retribution from an indignant ruling party. While the propriety of both actions may be debatable, far more significantly, the leakage of a ministry of defence (MoD) report following this episode has, once more, dragged the office of the service chiefs and the respected institution of the armed forces into sordid media debate and condemnation by insinuation. In recent days we, as Indians, have shown a penchant for publicly denigrating and undermining institutions that are respected and protected by every nation because they are the defenders and faithful servants of the state: Parliament, the military and the intelligence services. In a young and boisterous democracy, such as ours, the elected representatives can be forgiven many trespasses, but lemminglike behaviour is not one of them. 

As we brace ourselves for the forthcoming general elections, there is countrywide apprehension that difficult times lie ahead in terms of political volatility, economic instability and social unrest. The recent grim events in UP could presage worse to come. Externally, the display of belligerence by the Chinese and Pakistani armies, while catching us on the wrong foot, has conveyed the ominous warning that we need to prepare for collusive action by them. To exacerbate our security predicament, the Pak army-ISI combine is waiting for the last GI to depart Afghanistan before unleashing its ‘strategic reserve’ of Taliban on India. In such a daunting scenario, Indians would wish their powerful military to be at the peak of combat-readiness, morale and motivation, ready to react swiftly to orders of the political leadership to meet every national crisis; whether internal disorder or external threats.

Let us pause to consider if such a response can be expected from a military which suffers low self-esteem because its leadership is publicly excoriated and humiliated with regularity and snidely accused of disloyalty, by proxy, through the media. Let us also pay heed to the words of Winston Churchill, an experienced soldier as well as astute politician: “The army is not…an inanimate thing, like a house, to be pulled down or structurally altered at the caprice of the tenant or owner; it is a living thing. If it is bullied, it sulks; if it is unhappy, it pines; if it is harried, it gets feverish.”If there is unanimity amongst the citizenry and the politicians regarding the armed forces, it is that everyone wants them to be completely ‘apolitical’. We are extremely fortunate that in a region full of praetorian militaries, the Indian armed forces have remained completely untainted by political stain or ambition; and it is in the nation’s interest that they continue to be so. 

Regrettably, the same is no longer true of the military veterans, and since the 25-30 lakh former soldiers retain a close umbilical link with the serving personnel there is real danger of the armed forces, too, becoming politicised by osmosis. A pertinent question that arises at this juncture is how and when did the veterans become politicised? The short answer is they have actually been driven to politics over the past five to six years by the indifference of politicians and the hostile manner in which the MoD bureaucracy has handled problems relating to pensions and allowances of aging veterans, war widows and battle casualties. Forced to go to courts, they were stunned to find a litigious MoD fighting them at every step through appeals to higher courts. In a bizarre development, the MoD has perversely refused to implement even Supreme Court judgments favourable to the veterans. In April 2008, the frustrated veterans decided to resort to public demonstrations, in Delhi and elsewhere, to press their demands, and ever since their protest movement has gathered mass, momentum and political flavour. Cautionary advice rendered by senior veterans, including retired chiefs, has been consistently disregarded at the highest levels of the government and MoD. The ‘Rewari moment’ was, therefore, waiting to happen. 

If forcing the veterans to take to the streets was a grave mistake, it has been compounded by serial mishandling, driving a patriotic, disciplined and politically-neutral segment of society into the maw of party politics. Retrieval may be possible even at this late stage if the government initiates urgent action to assuage disquiet among veterans and send a message of reassurance to troops in the field. First, alleged misdemeanours by the senior military leadership must be investigated under the vast powers available to the government and due process of law followed thereafter. Interests of national security demand the utmost discretion and confidentiality in such cases. Media leaks of military matters and trial-by-TV bring comfort only to our enemies. Secondly, the so-called department of ex-servicemen’s welfare must be recast (as in other democracies) with a retired service officer as its head and with adequate veterans on its staff. The bureaucracy should be made to desist from initiating mindless litigation against the nation’s veterans. The defence minister has adequate powers to decide most issues. 

Finally, military headquarters, worldwide, are part of government; only in India are they seen as ‘submitting’ reports/matters for the government’s consideration. It is time to eliminate such bureaucratic subterfuge, by amending the government business rules to subsume the three service HQs within its edifice.
    

 

Forcing them to take to the streets

The writer is former chief of the Indian Navy.

 

(Source-TOI Epaper)

23rd SCOVA Agenda -ATR & gist of discussion – Bharat Pensioners Samaj

Gist of discussions in SCOA 23rd SCOVA meeting on 23/09/2013

20.09.2013 MOS Sh V. Narayanasamy took the chair at 4.00 PM. Joint Secy. DOP &PW Welcomed the Minister, officers from different departments / Ministries & the SCOVA members. After JS welcome address introduction of members & officers started S.C. Maheshwari Genl. Secy. BPS while introducing himself pointed out to the Minister  that while BPS was thankful to the minister for increasing frequency of SCOVA meetings, organization will   be grateful if  instead of few hours at least one full day is earmarked for these meetings and that a system need to be put in place to lay down as to what  type & numbers of items will be accepted for inclusion in SCOVA Agenda. After introduction the MOS addressed the meeting highlighting the  work of the DOPPW & the important circulars issued in the recent past.  He assured that pensioners issues will be dealt on priority by his Ministry.

Final ATR on 22nd SCOVA meeting was then taken up for review. Lively discussion followed each item members expressed their concern over the delay in issuing revised PPOs representatives of every Ministry/Department tried to blame pensioners for the delay stating that they were  not gtiings details from pensioners & sought assistance of Pensioners’ Associations. MOS however directed all departments/ministries to suo-motto issue PPOS to all pensioners within the  target dates.

Commenting on item No2 of ATR i.e. revision of exgratia to cpf/srpf retirees, Secy. Genl. BPS pointed out that the amount of ex-gratia of Rs 645/- per month was too little for the survival of a person. Secy DOPPW retorted that these retirees were not pensioners. Secy. Genl BPS pointed out that these retirees too have a right to survive but no positive reaction could be evoked from official side or the honorable Minister. Position of items 3to 9 remained the same as given in the ATR .However, While discussing item9 of ATR it was pointed out that the M/O Rlys was still not uploading on their website all the orders & circulars issued by Rly.Bd.

Regarding item 10 & 11 of the ATR regarding anomaly in fixation of pension to DOT employees &merger of78% IDA with basic pension benefit to the absorbed BSNL Pensioners, after discussion it was decided that the department of Telecommunication will put up positive proposals by 30.09.2013.

Discussion on new Agenda items:

Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions
(Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare)

AGENDA ITEMS WITH COMMENTS FOR 23rd MEETING OF STANDING COMMITTEE OF VOLUNTARY AGENCIES (SCOVA) TO BE HELD ON 20th SEPTEMBER, 2013, AT VIGYAN BHANVAN ANNEXE, NEW DELHI

Sl. No.	AGENDA ITEM	COMMENTS
1.	Submission of application in Form 14 be dispensed with for sanction of Family Pension:- As details of family members eligible for family pension in the event of the death of the pensioner, joint photograph with the spouse and the amount of family pension payable in the event of death of the pensioner are available under Part II of the Pension Payment Order issued by the Pay and Accounts Officer or other designated authority. It is redundant and unnecessary to insist on submission of all these details in Form 14 for sanction of Family pension. On the death of the pensioner, a written request from the spouse along with a death certificate of the pensioner is sufficient to sanction the family pension. So the extant cumbersome procedure may be dispensed with and a simplified procedure introduced. Action : D oP&PW	D/o P&PW :- The matter has been examined in the Government. Necessary instruction for grant of family pension without Form-14 where pensioner has a joint account with the spouse and using Form-IA in other cases without having it attested are being issued shortly.
2.	Extension of benefit of upgraded Grade Pay to pre-2006 retirees of S-12 grade :- Benefit of upgraded Grade Pay Rs 4600, introduced subsequently in place of already implemented GP Rs.4,200/- for 5-12 grade in pre- revised scale of Rs 6,500-10,500 w.e.f 01.01.2006 in terms of 0.M No. F.No 1/1/2008-IC dated 13.11.2009 of Mb o Finance, Department of Expenditure is not extended to pre-2006 pensioners retired from S-12 grade. The clarification assumes importance in view of the need for protection of 50% of the minimum Pay in the Pay Band & Grade Pay in 0.M dated 28.1.2013. (Action: D/o Expenditure, D/oP&PW)	D/o P&PW:- The Department has sought following advice from D/o Exp: (i) Whether the grade pay of Rs.4600/- is to be treated as the grade pay corresponding to the pre- revised pay-scale of Rs.6500-10500/- or it is to be treated as upgraded grade pay. (ii) In case, Grade Pay of Rs.4600 is to be treated as grade pay corresponding to the pre-revised pay scale of Rs.6500-10500/-, the pre- 2006 pensioners who retired before 2006 would be entitled to the benefit of this Grade Pay in terms of Para 4.2 of this Department’s OM dated 1.9.2008 and OM dated 28.1.2013 issued by this Department. The D/o Expenditure has been asked to clarify as to what would be the minimum pay in the pay band plus grade pay as per the fitment table, which is to be reckoned for calculation of minimum pension for those pensioners who retired from the scale of 6500/- 10,500/- in terms of OM dated 28.1.2013
3.	Complaints Against The System of Lodging of Pension Grievance :- At present the complaints lodged with Public Grievances is forwarded to the Ministry. Therefore, complaints on Subordinate Officer take a long time to reach them (Subordinate Officer). It is therefore necessary that the complaints are forwarded directly to the officers against whom the complaint is lodged to avoid undue delay. (Action: D/o P&PW)	D/o P&PW: This Department has been forwarding the grievances on pension related matters, received in this Department either on line through CPENGRAMS or otherwise, to designated nodal officers of concerned Ministries/Departments/Organisations. Since even for monitoring those grievances, this Department has been interacting with the designated nodal officers, it is neither prudent not feasible to send grievances directly to subordinate formations.
4.	Broad Banding of Disability Element for Pre-1996 cases. Welfare):- In implementation of the 5th CPC recommendations, Dept of Pensions & PW had issued OM dated 03.02.2000 for revision of disability and family pensions for post 1996 disabled pensioners which, inter alia, applied the principle of broad- banding to compute reckonable percentage of disability. Vide OM dated 11.09.2001 the same benefits were extended to pre-1996 pensioners with effect form01.01.1996, These orders, like others issued by D/o P&PW, are equally applicable to civil as well as defence pensioners. MOD, however, extended the broad-banding benefit to post-96 disabled pensioners only, vide its order dated 31.01.2001, denying it to the pre-96 lot. The 2009 Cabinet Secretary’s Committee, agreed to eliminate this anomaly. However, MoD(DESW) orders dated 19.01.2010 granted the benefit w.e.f 01.07.2009 only, completing ignoring the fact that the same benefit on the civil side has been extended w.e.f 01.01.1996. The matter was asain raised with Deptt/ESW in August 2010. The need to apply the orders w.e.f 01.01.96 was accepted. However, the revised orders are yet to be issued even after lapse of nearly 2- 1/2 years. (Action: M/ o Defence )	M/O Defence (D/o Ex-Servicemen Welfare):- The matter regarding extension of benefit of broad banding to pre-1.1.96 invalided out individuals was processed and referred to MoD(Fin) for concurrence. But MoD(Fin) returned the matter back for knowing the financial implications involved. CGDA, expressed its difficulty in furnishing the requisite information. MoD(Fin) was persuaded to process the matter without the financial implications. The case has been referred to M/o Finance by MoD(Fin) in March,2013. The DESW has been in constant touch with the D/o Expenditure to get the case finalized.
5.	Appointment of Specialists and General Medical Officer in CGHS :- Aged Pensioners are unable to go to crowded Government hospitals and obtain specialist’s prescription as the Specialists in the Government Hospitals are not only reluctant to issue such prescription on one hand but also the waiting time is enormous in the hospital. It is suggested that Specialist of various disciplines may be appointed on contract as is now resorted to. ( Action: M/o Health & FW_)	M/o Health & FW:- Keeping in view the difficulties being faced by the aged CGHS pensioner beneficiaries, feasibility of appointing specialists of various disciplines in CGHS dispensaries on part time/contract basis is being explored
6.	Problems faced by non -Smart Card (old card holders) of CGHS:- As per instructions issued by the Govt. of India, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare vide letter No.6024/2007/CGHS(HR)CGHS(P) Dated 17.12.2012 the beneficiaries of CGHS can get treatment in all CGHS covered cities in India and there is no need for obtaining temporary attachment while on a visit to another CGHS city. It has been brought to the notice of this Association by the members that if they carry CGHS cards while on visit to out stations, their dependant members, who do not accompany them, face great difficulty in case of emergency as without card Wellness Centers do not entertain any patient. Even in case of serious emergency empanelled hospitals do not entertain any patient if the CGHS card is not produced to them within four hours of admission and treat the CGHS beneficiaries as ordinary patients and cashless treatment is not permitted. Similar is the position of the card holder if he leaves the card behind for use of his dependents in his absence or the dependent(s) goes to outstation. The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare is requested to find out a viable solution to this problem so that the beneficiaries of CGHS do not suffer during their visit to outstation. ( Action: Mb o Health & FW)	M/ o Health & FW:- It was decided to replace the old cards by the plastic cards meant for each beneficiary including dependent family members. Now, a beneficiary can avail CGHS facility in any wellness centre anywhere in the country on production of his CGHS Plastic Card or Paper Card. Inpatient medical treatment facility is also available in empanelled private hospitals on production of the same. CGHS has already started issuing plastic cards at all its locations (except Jammu). Beneficiaries may apply for the same with the requisite details and get their plastic cards made from the Office of Add. Director, CGHS of the city concerned.
7.	Extension of benefit of OM dt. 28.1.2013 w.e.f 1.1.2006 instead of 24.9.2012:- Govt. of India, M/o P&PG & Pensions, Department of Pension and Pensioners Welfare, New Delhi’s Order No. F-38/37/2008-P&PW(A) dated 28.1.2013. In the light of the judgement of the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi dated 29.04.2013 delivered with reference to Writ Petition No’s WP(C) 1535/2012, WP(C) 2348/2012,WP(C) 2349/2012 and WP(C) 2350/2012 read with Hontle Supreme Court of India’s decision in SLP (C) 23055 of 2013 of the Union of India Vs CG S-(29) (SAG) Pensioners Association dated 29.07.2013, the date of effect mentioned in the GOI order dated 28/1/13 may be revised retrospectively from 1.1.2006 and arrears paid to the eligible Pensioners. ( Action:DoP&PW)	D/o P&PW :- The advice in regard to further course of action on the dismissal of SLP No. 23055 of 2013 by the Hon’ble Supreme Court on 29.7.2013 has been sought from Department of Expenditure. The advice is still awaited.

Item No1 position as given under comments was agreed-item closed.

Item 2.Members were informed that DOE has not agreed. However, on the insistence of members, item kept open.

Item3.while discussing this item following was brought to the notice of the Minister

(1)That though quiet a number of buildings are lying vacant over the Indian Rlys but inspite of the fact that Pensioners Associations are ready to pay the rent,  vacant accommodation is not being allotted to them & that some Rly. Divisions do not accept pensioners associations to be the welfare organizations.  Honorable Minister took note of it.

(2) That  several items submitted by the members for inclusion in SCOVA agenda were forwarded by  DOP &PW vide their letter dated 23.8.2013 to the concerned Ministries/ Departments for direct reply but no replies have been received & that departments generally do not reply

(3) That inspite of repeated assurance given in earlier SCOVA meetings M/O Rlys is not uploading on its website the circulars/orders issued by different Directorates of Rly Board neither these are circulated to SCOVA members

(4)That though as per Indian Rly Master circular on Pension Adalat. Pension Adalat at Divisional level are to be conducted quarterly but these instructions are not being followed & that SCOVA members are not being informed about the date/place of Adalat and the Agenda

 

(Source: www.scm-bps.blogspot)

RBI Guidelines - Compensation for delay in pension payments by banks

Defence Pension Adalat

---

As per the Annual action Plan of Controller General of Defence Accounts, New Delhi in consultation with the Ministry of Defence, the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (Pensions) Allahabad will be organising the 119th Defence Pension Adalat at Jamshedpur (Jharkhand) on 29th and 30 th October, 2013 for redressal of grievances of Defence pensioners including Defence Civilians drawing pension through PUBLIC SECTOR BANKS, TOs’ and DPDOs in the State of Jharkhand and adjoining areas.

Objective

Any Defence Pensioners / Defence Family Pensioners / Defence Civilian and their families having any specific grievances relating to sanction or disbursement of Defence pension are requested to submit their representation, in writing, in duplicate to : Sri K D S Parmar, Pension Adalat Officer O/o Principal CDA (Pensions), Draupadi Ghat, Allahabad-211014, A format of the representation is given on this website. Applicants are advised to apply as per the format, for easy processing of their applications. Kindly Note Applications can either be sent by post or by E-Mail Two copies of the applications should be sent Photocopies of Pension payment order, Corr PPO, discharge certificate (wherever required) and other documents must be enclosed Each application will be allotted a unique Adalat Registration Number. The same should be quoted in all future correspondence. Individual call letters notifying the date and venue of the Adalat will be sent in due course Incomplete and unsigned representations will be rejected. The Date of the Pension Adalat on dt 29 th & 30th Octobar, 2013 at Tulsi Bhavan, Near Gopal Maidan, Bishtapur, Jamshedpur (Jharkhand). TA/DA will not be reimbursed to pensioners/individuals attending the Adalat for redressal of their pension related problems. (Source- CDA(P) Allahabad website)

Submission of Form 14 by the spouse to the Pension Disbursing bank after the death of the pensioner - instructions

Why Servicemen Matter To Political Parties: Indian Armed Forces Comprise Largest Voting Constituency

(Source-Chindits blog)

IESM DIGEST 1/2013

IESM digest has been designed to update members of IESM about the latest happening and update ex-servicemen on the issues. The digest will be taken out once a month and if required twice a month. The IESM digest will be numbered serially with year and then date. It will be easy to refer back any digest if required. First digest for the month of Sep is given below

 

                                        IESM DIGEST 1/2013     

 

 Date 20 Sep 2013 

 

1. IESM is in the process of galvanizing veterans into a cohesive group. An ESM rally was organised on 8 Sep 13 Sunday at Devi ka Mandir Patauda village distt Jhajjhar. The rally was attended by more than 5000 ESM from 50 villages around Patauda and from four states of India.  Former COAS Gen VK Singh alongwith many other Generals attended the rally. The rally was addressed by former COAS Gen VK Singh and officiating Chairman IESM Gen Satbir singh  along with other 22 speakers. All speakers stressed upon the unity and effective use of vote bank of veterans. The rally was organised by Col  Lakhi Ram  and Hony Capt JS Rathee VrC with the help of volunteers of their village. IESM thanks all the volunteers for arranging the rally at Patauda.
2. Another ex-servicemen rally was organised at Rewari on 15 Sep 13 Sunday. The rally was addressed by Maj Gen Satbir Singh,  Gen VK Singh and  Sh Narendra Modi. Huge crowd of more than 2 lac ex-servicemen had gathered to listen to Sh Narendra Modi. Sh Narendra Modi asked the UPA Govt to take out a white paper on the demand of OROP for ex-servicemen. He confirmed that had the BJP Govt been formed in 2004, OROP would have been a reality for ex-servicemen. This was in consonance with the promise given by BJP President Sh Raj Nath Singh during a meeting with IESM delegation.
3. Special Leave Petition (SLP) of the Govt in the Supreme court to revisit their decision of paying arrears of enhanced pension from 1 Jan 06 has been turned down. Government has not issued any order on the subject. IESM feels it is a matter of time that Government will take out suitable instructions to give arrears from 1 Jan 06 to all pensioners. Govt is likely to claim it as closing the gap for OROP and it will be a blatant lie to confuse ESM. 

     4.  Government had lost their appeal in Supreme Court about the rank pay case of officers. There was a difference of opinion about the interpretation between MOD and the Armed Forces HQ of the Hon'ble Supreme Court Judgment. At the same time RDOA, who is pioneering the case had approached the Hon'ble Supreme court for Contempt of Court against MOD for not implementing the decision as per court orders. It is understood that Government is likely to issue instruction on the rank pay issue. Every one is waiting to see what other twist the MOD (bureaucrats) would insert in the instructions (wait and watch with magnifying glass to read the instructions likely to be issued by the MOD). Veterans please note that this is a pay which this Govt had denied to  all officers of Armed Forces since 1986 and is still fighting tooth and nail with Supreme court to find a way to deny it. 

 

5.   While on one hand IAS, IFS, IPS and IFS officers have been granted to take treatment abroad as if the specialist services are not available in India and to top it one attendant is also permitted to accompany the patient. Therefore, all serving and retired Central Govt officers, other than those from Defence Services, will be travelling abroad with their spouse to get treatment. On the other hand Government says that it does not have money to grant OROP

 

6.   ESM, please give serious consideration whether the present Govt is for welfare of ESM and widows or against the welfare. 

 

7. IESM is planning a big rally at Jantar Mantar Delhi from 1000h to 1400h on 19 Oct 13 Sunday. All veterans are requested to attend the rally in large numbers and make it a big success.

 

8. Annual General Body meeting (AGM) of IESM has been planned from 1000h on 27 Oct 13 at Pune. All members are requested to attend the AGM.  

 

Regards,

 

Gp Capt VK Gandhi VSM
Gen Sec IESM
L - 48, Sector - 25,
NOIDA. 201301
Tele no 01204313951
Mobile   09810541222

 

 

IF YOU SEE SOMEONE WITHOUT A

 

      SMILE GIVE HIM ONE OF YOURS.

 

DO NOT VOTE FOR THE PRESENT GOVT IN THE NEXT ELECTIONS BECAUSE IT IS DETERMINED TO    BREAK MORALE OF ARMED FORCES AND VETERANS

 

Gp Capt VK Gandhi VSM
Gen Sec IESM
L - 48, Sector - 25,
NOIDA. 201301
Tele no 01204313951
Mobile   09810541222

Pls see IESM latest NEWS on http://www.iesm.org

 

(Source- IESM)

Grant pension to ex-employee: CAT to Delhi govt

                    

New Delhi: Observing that the aim of pension is to provide social security to government servants, the Central Administrative Tribunal has directed the Delhi government to grant pension to one of its former employees who was denied the benefit on the ground that he had resigned before completing 20 years in service.

"The object of pension rules itself is to provide social security to government servants, by way of pension, but not to deny the same even to a dismissed, removed or compulsorily retired government servant," CAT member Ajay Kumar said.

The tribunal made the observations while deciding in favour of petitioner Amar Singh, a retired army personnel who had challenged the Delhi government's order rejecting his requests for pension.

After serving in the Army Medical Corps as Naik, Singh retired on March 24, 1986. On March 22, 1988 he joined as a laboratory technician in Aruna Asif Ali hospital against a vacancy reserved for ex-serviceman. After serving there for 18 years 4 months and 9 days, he resigned on July 1, 2006, stating he intends to dedicate himself fully in the spiritual service of the society.

He had submitted that his repeated requests for pension and gratuity were denied by the hospital which said he had not completed the required service of 20 years to qualify for the benefits.

Later, the authorities concerned told him that his case was referred to the Finance (Accounts) Department of Delhi government which had clarified that he is not entitled to any post-retirement benefit as he had resigned from his post unconditionally and not to take up employment in another government entity.

The government also relied upon a pension rule to say that its object was to provide benefit of past service to those who take up another employment under the government after resigning to the earlier service or post even before completing the qualifying service.

The tribunal, however, rejected the contention of the Delhi government and said, "A comprehensive reading of the entire pension scheme clearly establishes that it is a beneficial legislation" and it cannot be interpreted to deprive pension to those who were allowed to resign from one government service unconditionally (not for joining other government service).

It directed Secretary, Health Ministry of Delhi government and the medical superintendent of Aruna Asaf Ali hospital to give all monetary benefits with arrears to Amar Singh within 60 days.

 

(Source-Zee News)

Right to pension cannot be taken away pending proceedings: Apex Court

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According to Supreme Court, pension is hard earned benefit which accrues to an employee and is in the nature of “property”.

New Delhi, Aug 20:  

Observing that gratuity and pension are hard earned benefits of an employee and right to receive pension is in the nature of “property”, the Supreme Court has held that this right cannot be taken away from a government employee pending departmental or criminal proceedings. “It is an accepted position that gratuity and pension are not the bounties. An employee earns these benefits by dint of his long, continuous, faithful and un-blemished service. It is thus hard earned benefit which accrues to an employee and is in the nature of “property”.

 

“This right to property cannot be taken away without the due process of law as per the provisions of Article 300 A of the Constitution of India,” a bench of justices K.S Radhakrishnan and A.K Sikri said. The court passed the judgement while dismissing the appeal of Jharkhand government against the state’s high court order directing it to release the withheld dues of its retired employee Jitendra Kumar Srivastava, who had criminal cases pending against him.

 

“We are of the opinion that the right of the petitioner (Srivastava) to receive pension is property under Article 31(1) (of the Constitution) and by a mere executive order the State had no power to withhold the same. “The order dated June 12, 1968 denying the petitioner right to receive pension affects the fundamental right of the petitioner under Articles 19(1)(f) and 31(1)of Constitution, and as such the writ petition under Article 32 is maintainable,” the bench said.

 

It also said “a person cannot be deprived of this pension without the authority of law, which is the Constitutional mandate enshrined in Article 300 A of the Constitution. It follows that attempt of the appellant to take away a part of pension or gratuity or even leave encashment without any statutory provision and under the umbrage of administrative instruction cannot be countenanced.”

 

The state government had moved the apex court challenging the October 31, 2007 order of a division bench of the high court which had held that under the Bihar Pension Rules, the government does not have power to withhold gratuity and pension during the pendency of departmental or criminal proceeding and or withhold leave encashment at any stage either prior to or after conclusion of the proceeding.

 

The order of the high court had come on a writ petition filed by the petitioner, who had retired from the post of Artificial Insemination Officer, Ranchi in 2002, seeking release of part of his pension and other dues. He had joined the Department of Animal Husbandry and Fisheries in Bihar government in 1966. In 1996 two cases were registered against him under various sections of Indian Penal Code and also Prevention of Corruption Act for alleged financial irregularities during the years 1990 and 1991 when he was posted as Artificial Insemination Officer, Ranchi.

 

After formation of state of Jharkhand, he became the employee of that state while his prosecution in two criminal cases remained pending. After his retirement in 2002, the government sanctioned 90 percent provisional pension while remaining 10 percent pension and salary of his suspension period was withheld pending outcome of the criminal cases/departmental inquiry against him. He was also not paid leave encashment and gratuity.

(This article was published on August 20, 2013- Business Line)

DA from July 2013 – Cabinet approves 10% DA hike with effect from July 2013 – Total Dearness Allowance payable from July 2013 will be 90%

September 20, 2013 by admin

 

As reported in media 10% increase in DA from July 2013 has been been approved by Union Cabinet. Detailed report is as follows.

Central Government employees will get additional dearness allowance at the rate of 10 per cent. This will benefit 50 lakh present employee and 30 lakh pensioners. The new rate will be effective from July 1, 2013.
PTI adds: The Government today approved a proposal to hike dearness allowance to 90 per cent from the existing 80 per cent.
“The Union Cabinet approved the proposal to increase dearness allowance to 90 per cent at its meeting here. The hike would be effective from July 1 this year,” a source said.
According to the source, the increase in DA to 90 per cent would result in additional annual expenditure of Rs 10,879 crore. There would be an additional burden of Rs 6,297 crore on the exchequer during 2013-14 on account of this hike in DA.
This is a double digit hike in DA after about three years.
It was in September 2010 that the Government had last announced a hike of 10 per cent to be given with effect from July 1, 2010.
The DA was hiked to 80 per cent from 72 per cent in April 2013, effective from January 1 this year.
In keeping with practice, the Government used the CPI-IW data for the past 12 months to arrive at a number for the purpose of a DA hike.
The retail inflation for industrial workers between July 2012 and June 2013 was used to compute the increase in DA.

(Source- G Connect) 

ARMED FORCES- A SOLDIER'S WORTH

The government continues to deny both serving and retired soldiers their rightful pay and perks and has quietly buried a Fifth Pay Commission study which found that they had a much lower life expectancy than their civilian counterparts. By PURNIMA S. TRIPATHI in New Delhi

EVEN as the country watched soldiers of the Indian Army putting their lives on the line during the arduous rescue operations in flood-hit Uttarakhand in June, a couple of elderly defence veterans were making the rounds of the Army Headquarters and the offices of the Defence Ministry in New Delhi, hoping to meet either the Defence Minister or the Chief of the Army Staff. 

They hoped to draw the attention of the authorities to the fact that the pay and perks of serving soldiers (all ranks, including officers and sepoys) and the post-retirement benefits of ex-servicemen were pitiable.

Maj Gen (retd) Satbir Singh, acting chairman of the Indian Ex Servicemen Movement (IESM), 

Maj Gen (retd) Surjit Singh.

The two men were Maj Gen (retd) Satbir Singh, acting chairman of the Indian Ex Servicemen Movement (IESM), and Maj Gen (retd) Surjit Singh. They had a committee report to back their claim that soldiers were given a raw deal. The committee, headed by Maj Gen Surjit Singh, was formed by the Army’s Pay Commission cell to deduce the life expectancy of soldiers for finalising their pay, perks and age of superannuation for the Fifth Central Pay Commission. The committee’s report was prepared in consultation with the Institute of Applied Manpower Research (IAMR). The report, which was confidential, never got acted upon despite the then Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s assurance that it would be given due consideration. While the Fifth Pay Commission was benevolent to Central government employees, defence personnel got a raw deal. This led to a lot of heartburning among defence personnel. Internally, they continued to try and push the government to remedy the situation, but it proved futile. “Now we have decided to make this report public and highlight the unfair treatment meted out to soldiers by successive governments,” said Satbir Singh.

Dying earlier 

The findings of the report, titled “A critique of the military pension”, are indeed startling. Taking a big enough sample size of various categories of veterans from pension disbursing banks, zila sainik boards and EME records, the Army cell came to the conclusion that the life expectancy was 72.5 years for officers, 67 for junior commissioned officers (JCOs) and between 59.6 and 64 years for other ranks. The study found that among personnel of other ranks, soldiers possessing saleable skills tended to live longer. The overall conclusion was that on an average a soldier lived only 15 to 20 years after retirement, irrespective of his age at the time of retirement.

In contrast, the IAMR study found that the life expectancy of civil servants was 77 years and that of Railway employees was 78 years. In view of these findings, the Fifth Central Pay Commission recommended an increase in the age of superannuation for Central government civil servants from 58 to 60 years. A number of States such as West Bengal, Meghalaya and Mizoram, and the Union Territory of Puducherry followed suit and raised the age of superannuation for their civil servants. The Commission gave the personnel of the central police organisations three years’ additional service, the benefits for members of the armed forces were left to be decided by the Central government.

“In a society where civilian authority is supreme, we were left with no choice but to raise the issue at the right forums internally and kept hoping that the government would do something about it. But, unfortunately, nothing happened. Once the matter was raised in the Rajya Sabha and the then Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee told the House that he would look into it, but many years have since passed and nothing has been done, which is a matter of great concern for all of us,” said Surjit Singh, who claimed that since retirement he had now found his “freedom of speech back” and that he intended to make full use of it to get the soldiers their due.

The reasons for the reduced life expectancy of soldiers are many. The first and foremost is the paltry pension they receive. “Before retirement the soldier is fed on a 4,000 calorie per diem diet… post-retirement there is sudden drop in the consumption pattern of the ex-servicemen… that has a telling effect on their health and well-being,” the study says. Besides, even though the soldiers retire at a young age when they are still physically fit, lack of re-employment opportunities and their singular lack of investment acumen add to their woes.

The study says the re-employment scenario for soldiers is dismal, to say the least. “The total number of soldiers of combat category who are absorbed in government service is less than two per cent of retirees and of this no more than 10 per cent succeed in their private ventures. Many lose their lifetime savings and end up as disillusioned men driven to extreme poverty,” the study says, pointing out that “what our defence veterans know about investment can be written on a postage stamp.”

Surjit Singh says that his personal interactions with veterans have shown that most of them spend their entire savings on the marriages of their kin, renovation of their houses, and so on, and that after a few years they are left with nothing.

The study further points out that what makes it worse for soldiers is that they lack the skills needed to survive in a civilian workforce and end up as easy prey for the business world. “Retiring a man at the age of forty is a bit like throwing a passenger overboard midstream. The pension is like a life jacket which keeps him afloat. If a kindly coxswain picks him up, good luck, or else he battles with the water for as long as he can and then goes down with the tide,” the study notes. Here it may be mentioned that in keeping with the mantra of a “lean and mean force” Army personnel retire pretty early. While the officers retire between 54 and 58 years of age on an average depending on the rank, sepoys retire at 37-40 years, a time when their personal obligations are at their peak. “Even if one is lucky to get a job post-retirement, holding on to it with grace and dignity is not so easy,” said Surjit Singh, adding that the soldier does not know the tricks of the trade in the civilian world and in the dog-eat-dog world of competition he is mostly forced to quit.

The IESM, which claims the allegiance of 150 ex-servicemen organisations from across the country, has taken up the issue with the Defence Minister and the three services chiefs. Its acting chairman Satbir Singh said he had written a letter to them on July 26 but had got no reply. “May we request you to trace out the file which may be catching dust in MoD or Army HQ and Review the management of Defence Personnel in more humane and pragmatic manner? Initiate measures to ensure that the soldiers are given their due status, respect, pay and allowance, pensions and family pensions and measures are put in place where soldiers can live in dignity and respect in our democracy,” he wrote in the letter.

What adds to the soldiers’ heartburning is the fact that from the Fourth Pay Commission onwards they have been denied even their rightful dues by the government on some pretext or the other. The Fourth Pay Commission gave an additional rank pay to defence personnel. This was not paid to them and the matter is now pending with the Supreme Court, which ordered the Central government to pay the rank pay to all defence personnel with effect from January 1, 1986. The government has cited lack of resources and is simply dragging on the case. The demand for “one rank one pension” has also been pending with the government for many years. Explaining the government’s tendency to ignore even the just demands of the forces, former Chief of the Army Staff Gen V.K. Singh told Frontline that bureaucrats kept the forces subordinated at all times. “There is this irrational fear that if they keep the forces happy and satisfied, they will start dominating,” he said. He should know, for he had taken government to court on the controversy surrounding his age and learnt a bitter lesson.

Gen V.K. Singh said he tried to improve matters when he was the Army chief, but more often than not he was frustrated by the bureaucracy. “To give you an example, I tried harmonising the ration of officers and jawans and it took me eight months to do that.” Harmonising meant reducing the gap between what a jawan got and what an officer got as ration. For example, he found to his utter shock that while officers were given two eggs a day, jawans got none and it took him eight months to correct this. Citing another example, he said the uniforms worn by jawans, which were prepared by the ordnance factories, were ill-fitting. So he tried to bring in a system where the jawans would get the material and would get them stitched themselves. The bureaucracy did not allow it. “Similarly, our combat soldiers need knee-length boots, but they wear ankle-length boots. I tried changing that, and gave up,” he said.

According to him, the bureaucracy has such a stranglehold over the system that the political leadership gets confused about issues. “The bureaucracy creates such a smoke screen around issues that the political leadership fails to see things for themselves and there lies the crux of the problem,” he said. He lamented that when this was the attitude of the bureaucracy over even trivial issues, there was no point in expecting them to correct substantial ones like those of pay and pension. He regretted that even though he had tried his best to do a few good things for the soldiers, he had failed. “At one point it just came to the frustrating situation that whatever I said was being seen with suspicion,” he said, reminiscing about the days when there seemed to be a conspiracy in the air about everything that he said or did.

But, unfortunately, in this tug of war between the civilian establishment and the military leadership, soldiers become the casualty. The IESM, which is planning a string of initiatives to draw the government’s attention to soldiers’ problems, is intent on taking up the issue of life expectancy to its logical conclusion. “The figures cited in the study are of 2005 vintage, the environment in 2012-13 has vitiated further. Over 1,053 suicides by serving soldiers in the last few years are indicative of high stress levels and low satisfaction levels. Recent cases of fragging and indiscipline are a cause of concern. This indifference of the Defence Ministry is adversely affecting not only the veterans but also future veterans,” says Maj Gen Satbir Singh.

Attempts by Frontline to get the Army’s or the Defence Ministry’s reaction to these issues proved futile as the officials concerned remained unavailable.

http://www.frontline.in/the-nation/a-soldiers-worth/article5128006.ece?homepage=true

 

(SOURCE- Sanjha Morcha)