One Rank One Pension (OROP) and demands for normal pensions, is not just about more pension money- but against broken promises and commitment by a sovereign state to its
आगे पढ़ने के लिए नीचे क्लिक करें
Armed forces-after actually depriving part of their meager pension they drew till 1973 with promise of more (OROP) - and denying it for 42 years! Armed forces feel discriminated in successive Central Pay Commissions (CPCs) over 4 decades and feel “Betrayed”! How justified are these perceptions?
Betrayal-1
After independence, pay scales for both Military and civil officers were reduced. While pre-independence civilian employees were allowed to retain their old higher pay, in an inexplicable, illogical act of discrimination, pre-independence Army officers were deprived this privilege! Lt Gen Sinha’s salary, Rs 1065 per month as major, was reduced overnight to 700 per month- loss of about 30%! Sardar Patel protested on 22 March 1947 that this was very unfair to Army officers. Finance justified on grounds of smaller number of pre-independence civil servants compared to Military!
Betrayal-2
Armies all over the world retire their personnel young- in India about 88% retiring at 35-37 and 90% out of the remaining retiring at 54-56 years- while ALL CIVILIANs retire at 58-60 years of age. This is in the National interest, to keep a young and fighting fit Army and to compensate early retirement Armed forces earlier drew 70%, and civil employees 30% of last pay drawn, as pension!
Third CPC in 1973 reduced Armed forces pension from 70% to 50 %, and increased civil pension from 30 % to 50%, on the logic that the Armed forces were soon getting OROP! By reducing 20% pension with immediate effect-but not implementing OROP the alleged rationale for such reduction-has the governments not reneged and cheated the Armed forces veterans for 42 years of their otherwise 20% additional pension? The civilian employees on the other hand started enjoying 20% enhanced pension since then and continue to serve till 60, assured job security! Can Armed forces be really faulted for perceived bureaucratic sleight of the hand, as CPCs are constituted mostly by bureaucrats?
Betrayal-3
Pre-independence veterans-many of them wounded disabled and survived in second world war, 1962 China war, Indo-Pak wars of 47, 65 and 1971- fighting five major wars in about 2 decades plus and saved Kashmir for us lost about 30% salary while in service and 20% loss in pension after 1973! Post- independence veterans lost 20% on their meagre pension and financially too lost out on benefits from successive CPCs due to early retirement-unlike civilian counterparts enjoying 20% enhanced pension since 1973, and serving full tenure till 60!
Betrayal-4
Denying OROP, the 4th CPC sanctioned ‘Rank pay’ in addition to Basic pay, a small lollypop in lieu! Controller of defence accounts (bureaucrats) created ‘faux paus’- deducting ‘rank pay’ from total emoluments and then doing pay fixation- causing financial loss to the Armed forces with negative cumulative effect on pay, DA, Pension, gratuity and commutation! After years of litigation the Apex court in September 2012 ruled in favour of Armed forces, yet to be implemented by bureaucracy!
Betrayal-5
6th CPC ruled that pensions should be fixed at 50 % of the " MINIMUM OF THE RANK IN THE PAY BAND, CORRESPONDING ". The bureaucracy erroneously placed the pensions of (only) Armed forces at 50 % of the " MINIMUM OF THE PAY BAND, CORRESPONDING", overlooking the rank factor! 4 different ranks Lt Col, Colonel, Brigadier and Maj Generals were in the same Pay Band-4, and MOD placed all of them at the bottom of this pay band for pension fixation ignoring ranks and length of service resulting in denial of legitimate dues to Armed forces!
Betrayal-6
In eighties with less pay and infamous compulsory financial deposits to government, at times forced to maintain two establishments, Is it appreciated how much the combined financial loss of even a couple of hundred rupees due to Rank pay and Pay band loss denied to them then due to ‘faux paus’ by bureaucracy mattered - when they needed it the most, with family and financial commitments being high, and denied till date?
Betrayal-7
Imagine thousands of veterans who died and are dying every day and have all lost out on their full rightful pensions for ever! To those veterans living since 1973 there is triple loss- being deprived of 20 % of their earlier pension(3rd CPC) plus loss of their genuine entitlements due to rank-pay calculation error(4th CPC) and Band pay(6thCPC)by bureaucracy! No errors were ever made while calculating the emoluments of civil bureaucrats- by themselves in all CPCs-getting their dues in time, unlike the Armed forces!
Betrayal -8
Now contrast this with how the bureaucracy had gifted to themselves “non-functional upgrade“ (NFU) in the same sixth CPC to officers in all India Group A services- from which the Armed forces were inexplicably excluded- wherein subject to certain conditions even without being promoted a civilian could draw higher pay than their rank and grade without assuming higher responsibilities- independent of vacancies in their cadre-disregarding the Apex court directive of equal pay for equal work!
Betrayal-9
Disabled civil employees are retained in service till 60 years with normal pension! Military personnel, where chances of disability are much more due to professional hazards, wars and risks are thrown out of service, often denied even their disability pension! A former Vice Chief of Army Staff who lost a leg in 1971 war as a major had to fight legal battle for years post his retirement just to get his disability pension! Capt Siddu whose arm was amputated while serving in high altitude was denied his disability dues after 40 years fighting court cases with the Supreme Court slamming the government for treating Army personnel as beggars!
Armed forces-after actually depriving part of their meager pension they drew till 1973 with promise of more (OROP) - and denying it for 42 years! Armed forces feel discriminated in successive Central Pay Commissions (CPCs) over 4 decades and feel “Betrayed”! How justified are these perceptions?
Betrayal-1
After independence, pay scales for both Military and civil officers were reduced. While pre-independence civilian employees were allowed to retain their old higher pay, in an inexplicable, illogical act of discrimination, pre-independence Army officers were deprived this privilege! Lt Gen Sinha’s salary, Rs 1065 per month as major, was reduced overnight to 700 per month- loss of about 30%! Sardar Patel protested on 22 March 1947 that this was very unfair to Army officers. Finance justified on grounds of smaller number of pre-independence civil servants compared to Military!
Betrayal-2
Armies all over the world retire their personnel young- in India about 88% retiring at 35-37 and 90% out of the remaining retiring at 54-56 years- while ALL CIVILIANs retire at 58-60 years of age. This is in the National interest, to keep a young and fighting fit Army and to compensate early retirement Armed forces earlier drew 70%, and civil employees 30% of last pay drawn, as pension!
Third CPC in 1973 reduced Armed forces pension from 70% to 50 %, and increased civil pension from 30 % to 50%, on the logic that the Armed forces were soon getting OROP! By reducing 20% pension with immediate effect-but not implementing OROP the alleged rationale for such reduction-has the governments not reneged and cheated the Armed forces veterans for 42 years of their otherwise 20% additional pension? The civilian employees on the other hand started enjoying 20% enhanced pension since then and continue to serve till 60, assured job security! Can Armed forces be really faulted for perceived bureaucratic sleight of the hand, as CPCs are constituted mostly by bureaucrats?
Betrayal-3
Pre-independence veterans-many of them wounded disabled and survived in second world war, 1962 China war, Indo-Pak wars of 47, 65 and 1971- fighting five major wars in about 2 decades plus and saved Kashmir for us lost about 30% salary while in service and 20% loss in pension after 1973! Post- independence veterans lost 20% on their meagre pension and financially too lost out on benefits from successive CPCs due to early retirement-unlike civilian counterparts enjoying 20% enhanced pension since 1973, and serving full tenure till 60!
Betrayal-4
Denying OROP, the 4th CPC sanctioned ‘Rank pay’ in addition to Basic pay, a small lollypop in lieu! Controller of defence accounts (bureaucrats) created ‘faux paus’- deducting ‘rank pay’ from total emoluments and then doing pay fixation- causing financial loss to the Armed forces with negative cumulative effect on pay, DA, Pension, gratuity and commutation! After years of litigation the Apex court in September 2012 ruled in favour of Armed forces, yet to be implemented by bureaucracy!
Betrayal-5
6th CPC ruled that pensions should be fixed at 50 % of the " MINIMUM OF THE RANK IN THE PAY BAND, CORRESPONDING ". The bureaucracy erroneously placed the pensions of (only) Armed forces at 50 % of the " MINIMUM OF THE PAY BAND, CORRESPONDING", overlooking the rank factor! 4 different ranks Lt Col, Colonel, Brigadier and Maj Generals were in the same Pay Band-4, and MOD placed all of them at the bottom of this pay band for pension fixation ignoring ranks and length of service resulting in denial of legitimate dues to Armed forces!
Betrayal-6
In eighties with less pay and infamous compulsory financial deposits to government, at times forced to maintain two establishments, Is it appreciated how much the combined financial loss of even a couple of hundred rupees due to Rank pay and Pay band loss denied to them then due to ‘faux paus’ by bureaucracy mattered - when they needed it the most, with family and financial commitments being high, and denied till date?
Betrayal-7
Imagine thousands of veterans who died and are dying every day and have all lost out on their full rightful pensions for ever! To those veterans living since 1973 there is triple loss- being deprived of 20 % of their earlier pension(3rd CPC) plus loss of their genuine entitlements due to rank-pay calculation error(4th CPC) and Band pay(6thCPC)by bureaucracy! No errors were ever made while calculating the emoluments of civil bureaucrats- by themselves in all CPCs-getting their dues in time, unlike the Armed forces!
Betrayal -8
Now contrast this with how the bureaucracy had gifted to themselves “non-functional upgrade“ (NFU) in the same sixth CPC to officers in all India Group A services- from which the Armed forces were inexplicably excluded- wherein subject to certain conditions even without being promoted a civilian could draw higher pay than their rank and grade without assuming higher responsibilities- independent of vacancies in their cadre-disregarding the Apex court directive of equal pay for equal work!
Betrayal-9
Disabled civil employees are retained in service till 60 years with normal pension! Military personnel, where chances of disability are much more due to professional hazards, wars and risks are thrown out of service, often denied even their disability pension! A former Vice Chief of Army Staff who lost a leg in 1971 war as a major had to fight legal battle for years post his retirement just to get his disability pension! Capt Siddu whose arm was amputated while serving in high altitude was denied his disability dues after 40 years fighting court cases with the Supreme Court slamming the government for treating Army personnel as beggars!
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