AN OPEN LETTER TO DEFENCE MINISTER BY BISWASDA, VICE CHAIRMAN, JCO/ORS VETERANS WELFARE ASSOCIATION OF INDIA

Sri Rajnath Singh.                                            

Defence Minister of India.
                               

                                                                        

Through: PA to Defence Minister.                       

                                                                             13 June 2019

Sir,

I, on behalf of millions of Ex-servicemen and their families of India congratulate you for adorning the prestigious mantle of Defence Minister of India. We feel that after multiple changes on the important post of Defence Minister in the previous government, the new government on its onset has put the baton to the able and strong hands of an ironman. We admire you as a man of principle, who has in-depth knowledge and insight into Defence preparedness of India as well as the problems of serving men and Ex-servicemen.

Sir, from the viewpoint of an ex-serviceman may I be allowed to raise a few concerns of ex-servicemen and veer naris  which are listed below. These are the concerns of the serving soldiers as well, as today's serving soldier would be tomorrow's ex-serviceman.

1.  OROP Revision: 

The last government implemented OROP with effect from 01.07.2014 and notified in clear terms that OROP be revised after every five years. The revision of OROP ought to be implemented  automatically from 01.07.2019. But sadly, no preparatory work could be initiated by Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA) for want of policy direction from Ministry of Defence.

Sir, as per the reply I received from CGDA (by my RTI application), CGDA has raised multiple queries to Ministry of Defence about the modality of implementation, the base year of calculation etc, for which they are yet to get any reply. In such a situation the OROP revision is heading for an indefinite delay.

2. One Man Judicial Commission Report:

Sir, I do not want to elaborate on the constitution of OMJC and subsequent fate of its report in the hands of high level scrutiny committee. The report still remains under examination and none of us know why is it delayed indefinitely. I understand that the Government has every right to accept or reject a commission report. But if some of the recommendations of the OMJC are accepted by the Government, it is logical that they should be reflected in the revision of OROP. Keeping the report under a wrap will only complicate the whole process.

3.  Multiple Court Cases:

Sir, I regret to mention that in many occasions ex-servicemen had to knock at the doors of a Court of Law to get their rightful dues. And even after getting a favourable judgment, the benefits were extended to the litigants only and no universal orders / notifications were issued by the authority to extend the benefit to similar cases. Sir, is it possible by thousands and thousands of affected ex-servicemen spread over the rural areas of our country to seek remedy from a court of law?

4. Equal MSP:

Sir, Military Service Pay was introduced by VI Pay Commission. By definition this benefit was extended to all jawans, officers and MNS (Military Nursing Service) considering the rigour and dangerous service conditions of military service. The VII pay commission also recognized this and recommended MSP as a unique element of pay for defence services. Now all JCOs and other ranks get equal MSP irrespective of their rank or basic pay.

But there exists wide difference in the quantum of MSP among jawans, MNS and Officers. A personnel in MNS, who is never exposed to any combat duty or any dangerous situation gets almost double the amount received by a jawan. An officer gets almost three times more than a jawan. It is an irony that a jawan who is at the forefront of war or war-like situation and who is in the first line of enemies' and terrorists' fire gets the least MSP. Respective Pay Commissions overlooked this great anomaly and the Government never stepped in to correct it.

Sir, these are the major concerns of ex-serviceman community. There is growing indignation amongst ex-servicemen that every political party swear by the patriotism of Armed Forces, but when it comes to the welfare and benefit of its personnel, the government often buckles under the pressure of civilian bureaucracy  and deny them of their rightful dues.

Sir, we strongly believe and hope that with the fine acumen of a strong administrator like you most of the above anomalies will be rectified soon.

Jai Hind.                                                                   

                                                                                         

Yours Faithfully 
Manananda Biswas
Vice Chairman,
JCO/ORS Veterans Welfare
Association of India