Veterans see red over non-implementation of OROP By Abhijit C Chandra Bhopal, Dec 10 (UNI) The unflinching gallantry of the Indian Armed Forces has been irrefutably evidenced time and again from blood-bespattered Badgam to the frozen heights of Kargil but it is a sheer irony of circumstances that veterans are being hit by friendly fire through non-implementation of one rank one pension (OROP) for approximately 26 lakh ex-servicemen and 6.5 lakh widows -- as family pensioners. Retired soldiers have returned thousands of their war medals to the President and signed in blood in support of OROP. The OROP anomaly is a festering issue that has its genesis in 1973 when the Third Central Pay Commission amalgamated the defence personnel with civilian employees resulting in downgrading of the military. Earlier, the defence forces received 70 per cent of the last pay as pension and civilians got only 33 per cent. This was made 50 per cent for all. OROP implies that uniform pension be paid to Armed Forces personnel retiring in the same rank with the same length of service, irrespective of their dates of retirement, and any future enhancement in rates of pension be automatically passed on to past pensioners. This implies closing the gap between the rate of pension of the current pensioners and past pensioners, and also future enhancements in the rate of pension, to be automatically passed on to past pensioners. Upto the mid-50s, a brigadier drew higher pension than a chief secretary and a major general received more pension than a secretary to the Government of India. This was to compensate for early retirement and extremely limited and delayed promotions besides the travails of military service, former deputy chief of the army staff Lieutenant General (Retd) Harwant Singh wrote in a leading national daily. Military service has become so unattractive that very few suitable candidates are coming forward to join the officer cadre -- the deficiency is around 12,000. Perhaps the bureaucracy has been frightening the political class with the mirage of a military takeover and thereby creating a bias against the services, he alleged. At the time of Independence, an army chief received Rs 1,000 as pension while a cabinet secretary got Rs 416, now both are given Rs 45,000. This clearly shows that the chiefs pension increased only 45 times while that of the equivalent Indian Administrative Service officer was enhanced 108 times, Maj Gen (Retd) Aditya JB Jaini told UNI. While those serving in the Armed Forces retire by rank, other government employees retire by age. To keep the Forces young, all jawans and non-commissioned officers retire in their mid-30s, all junior commissioned officers hang up their boots in their mid-40s and the bulk of officers retire in the early 50s. They see benefits of only one to two pay commissions and there is no dedicated or assured redeployment for them whereas their civilian counterparts serve till 60 years and enjoy benefits of five to six central pay commissions, Maj Gen Jaini added. Since the date of retirement also determines the quantum of pension, with each pay commission, veterans who retired early receive lesser pensions compared to those who retired later with the same rank and same service. In February, the then Defence Minister AK Antony assured that the matter is receiving our highest consideration. True to his word, he chaired a meeting on February 26 and took a decision setting the ball rolling for OROP. On the same day, the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare issued a letter to the Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA) instructing the latter to work out the modalities and take necessary action to implement the same, Maj Gen (Retd) RN Radhakrishnan said. The principle of OROP for the Armed Forces has been accepted. The modalities for implementation were discussed with various stakeholders and are under consideration of the Government. It will be implemented once the modalities are approved by the Government, Minister of State for Defence Rao Inderjit Singh said in a written reply to Mr Rajeev Chandrasekhar in the Rajya Sabha on December 2. Why is the present regime, which promises minimum government maximum governance, fumbling with the modalities for over six months? Does maximum governance mean prolonged discussion on a decision already taken by the previous government? Maj Gen Radhakrishnan wondered. Without doubt, the service conditions for faujis are more difficult than for any civil servant. The trauma of frequent transfers, changes of childrens schools, serious threat to life and limb and near certainty of retiring by the age of 50 years are themselves adequate grounds for generous compensation, Air Vice-Marshal (Retd) Anant Bewoor felt. A study ordered by the Centre to research into the Post Retirement Mortality Factor of defence officers vis-a-vis their civilian counterparts amazingly revealed that the former not only retire earlier but post retirement they also die earlier due to the heavy punishment their bodies have to go through while in service, paltry pensions and lack of due care post retirement, Maj Gen Jaini pointed out. If there are serious differences in interpretation of OROP by Service Headquarters and the CGDA, is it not the responsibility of the Defence Secretary to resolve these differences, Brigadier (Retd) CS Vidyasagar wondered. In an example of life reflecting fiction, in India an untamed bureaucracy arrogantly replicates the satirical British series Yes Minister; either stonewalling proposals or sitting on them to attrit the intended action, alleged Colonel (Retd) Rakesh Prasad Chaturvedi. Indeed sad and unfortunate for us, as most areas of our governance reflect; but more so for our national defence that has been definitely weakened, resulting in atrocious shortages of armament -- but even more importantly -- manpower, he added. Accusing the Second Estate for the delay, Congress Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha and Punjabs former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh -- himself a veteran -- has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this regard. Capt Singh considered it strange that despite the decision regarding OROP having been approved by Parliament, no headway has been made thus far as vested interests in the bureaucracy are attempting to scuttle it. The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime showed the green signal to OROP and the then Finance Minister P Chidambaram allocated Rs 500 crore for this purpose in his final budget as the precise figures were not known at that juncture. Mr Chidambarams successor Arun Jaitley also approved approximately Rs 1,000 cr in this years Budget. The entire amount required for the schemes implementation has been worked out to be about Rs 9,500 cr. The OROP issue was first raised on February 22, 1982 when 5,000 veterans reached the Prime Ministers Residence and presented a memorandum. The following year, Ms Indira Gandhi accepted the demand but the bureaucracy was able to stall it by not including it in the minutes of the meeting where the related decision was taken by the Premier. The KP Singh Deo Committee recommended OROP in 1984. In February 1987, the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi promised to grant OROP. Mr Vishwanath Pratap Singh, as Premier, accepted the demand but before related orders could be issued he had to bow out of office. In 1990, the Congress regime appointed a committee and the latter was keen to grant OROP but the Centre did not sanction it quoting prevailing economic conditions. Mr Inder Kumar Gujral as Prime Minister accepted the demand but before it could be sanctioned his government fell. In 2009, the Supreme Court ruled -- in the case of the Union of India versus Maj Gen (Retd) SPS Vains and Others -- that similarly-placed officers of the same rank be paid the same pension amounts irrespective of the date of retirement and that no defence personnel senior in rank can draw less pension than his junior irrespective of the date of superannuation. The Koshiyari Committee ordered by the UPA regime clearly negated all the reasons that the Government took shelter behind not giving OROP. This Committee clearly recommended that OROP be given immediately but the report was not even tabled in Parliament, Maj Gen Jaini said.
Posted on: Wed, 10 Dec 2014 10:02:24 +0000
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