ISSUES PERTAINING TO EX SERVICEMEN

Four issues pertaining to Ex serviceman

POINT NO 1: ONE RANK ONE PENSION (OROP)

One rank One Pension (OROP) has been an emotive issue with the Ex Servicemen since 1980 when it was first mooted. Faced with truncated career, early retirement, loss of life’s earning and with no hope for a second career the demand was seen as a saving grace to meet obligations of a retired life. The issue also got exploited in the manifesto of political parties to serve as a vote bank to being mentioned in the opening address of the President to both the ‘Houses’ of the Parliament. A number of Standing Committees of the Parliament examined the issue and every time it was recommended strongly but the implementation was scuttled by the bureaucracy on some flimsy ground.

Even the Rajya Sabha Petitions Committee under the Chairmanship of Bhagat Singh Koshyari recommended it strongly as late as Dec 2011. Yet again OROP is before the Committee of Secretaries to be examined de novo. From 1980 to 2012 the issue has remained alive with the Ex servicemen from holding rallies to depositing of their hard earned ‘Medals’ to the President Of India, but OROP is yet to see the light of the day. Even now there is hope but no despair.

In the intervening period certain developments have taken place, which have changed the dimensions of OROP and need to be considered. With the introduction of Non Functional Up Gradation (NFU) by the VI CPC for all Gp A Services in Pay Band 3 and 4 and Military Service Pay for Armed Forces, there is a need to re examine the proposal of OROP so that the Ex Servicemen are not losers once again.

 NFU and OROP

NFU has been discussed in Part I for extension to AF personnel. It has relevance to fixation of pension for retirees also. For example; 1982 batch of IAS has been empanelled for promotion to Addl Secy. So all Gp A services of 1980 seniority would be eligible for pay and pension of Addl Secy who is in HAG+ grade with pension of Rs 37750/-. Comparatively only 0.02% AF officers reach the level of Lt General. This is gross injustice to AF offrs.

99% of the AF offrs retire at the rank of COL at the age of 54 yrs with a pension of Rs 26050 inclusive of MSP. Under NFU most of Gp B Civs will be able to attain that; the level of Director which is considered equivalent to COL. So what are you going to gain effectively with OROP is a COL’s pension. AF again stand to loose with status further being lowered to Gp B Services.

So OROP in its present form is not suitable to AF officers unless NFU is extended to AF also and that to at the same level as given to civ GP A employees. Even for JCOs/ORs, OROP is a misnomer as none of them are able to get the third career progression due to early retirement affecting their pension directly. There is therefore a need to re examine OROP in view of changed norms like NFU and Military Service Pay.

RE FIXATION OF PENSION OF PRE 2006 AF RETIREES (OFFRS)

The pensions fixed under VI CPC have created an anomaly by fixing pensions of Lt Col to Major General by taking minimum of pay band of PB 4(Rs 37400) as the base pension rather than minimum of the pay in the pay band corresponding to the rank held at the time of retirement. This has resulted in a difference in pension due to grade pay only ranging from Rs 150 to Rs 500 where as the difference in pension of a Major (Rs 14100) and Lt Col (Rs 25700) is Rs 11600 and that between Maj General (Rs27500) & Lt General (Rs 37750) is Rs 10250 resp.

Re fixation of pay in the case of serving AF pers has already been dealt in Part I. Once their  pay is refixed there will be a corresponding increase in the pension of pre 2006 retirees, provided the benefit is extended to them also else it will lead to another litigation as has happened in the case of IV CPC rank pay case. It would be pertinent to mention the anomaly created due to the implementation of Ajai Vikram Singh report with a cut off date of 16 Dec 2004. As a fall out of this report the substantive promotion by time scale to the rank of Maj (6 yrs), Lt Col (13 yrs) and Col (26 yrs) got fixed. Offrs who were in service as on 16 Dec 2004 got promoted to the rank of Col with pay and pension leaving out those who retired a day earlier to get pension of Lt Col. A totally un justified proposition. Majors with 26 yrs of commissioned service were the worst affected and got the pension of Major (Rs 14100) being in pay band 3 (Rs15600-39000/-) by taking minimum of the pay band.

Prior to IV CPC the rank of Major was attained on completion of 13 yrs service and that to Lt Col by time scale at 22yrs. IV CPC reduced promotion to Major on completion of 11 yrs service. AVS report further reduced promotion to Major on completion of 6yrs service and Lt Col at 13 yrs service. So by all accounts a Pre 2006 Major who has put in 13 yrs commissioned service should get minimum pension of Lt Col and not that of Maj at six yrs. It is logical that if an officer (Lt Col TS/Lt Col (Sel)/ Maj) has put in 26 yrs of commissioned service, he should be granted pension of COL irrespective of rank attained. Anything other than this would be against norms of natural justice.

Presuming that the pay of COL would be refixed at Rs 42120 as minimum of pay in the pay band and with grade pay of Rs 10000/- the pension of pre 2006 Col will work out to be Rs 29060/- and not Rs 26050 as being given now. This should be made applicable to all officers who have put in minimum of 26 yrs commissioned service. Pension for lesser / more number of yrs of service can be tabulated accordingly. This will also resolve the anomaly in the pension of past Majors.

It is also hoped that the pay of Brig and Maj General would be refixed in HAG & HAG+ grade. This would increase their pension substantially and if the NFU is extended to AF then their pension would reach the level of Lt General at Rs 37750/- as being given to Civ Gp A services.

PENSION FOR JCOs/ORs

In simple terms OROP means that two persons retiring from the same rank with same no of yrs of service should get the same pension irrespective of date of retirement.
As explained earlier, JCOs/ORs will never be able to reach the top of their pay bands due to early retirement. The options available for grant of pension to JCOs/ORs are:

(a)       75% of last pay drawn as existed at III CPC till 60yrs and thereafter reduced to 50% coupled with OROP.

(b)       Separate pay band with a higher start so that adequate compensation is given coupled with OROP.

(c)        OROP so that the existing and past pensioners are at par. The pension can be revised after every five yrs as it may not be administratively feasible to do so on a yearly basis.

 

 

RE-FIXATION OF PAY OF OFFICERS OF AF

POINT NO 2& 3: RE-FIXATION OF PAY OF LT COL/COL/BRIG & GRADE PAY OF OFFICERS

The IV CPC introduced ‘Integrated pay scale’ for officers of the AF @ Rs 2300-100-3900-150-4200-EB-150-5100; and also the concept of ‘Rank Pay’ for offrs from the rank of Capt to Brig @ Rs 200 to 1200/- to be paid in addition to the revised pay arrived at. This rank pay was ‘carved’ out of the pay scale of the offrs thereby depressing the pay scale by an amount equal to rank pay. At the time of pay fixation an amount equal to rank pay was further deducted there by reducing their pay scales further as compared to civ services. By this the AF which were equated with IAS/IPS slid to being equivalent to Gp A services.

In the V CPC the integrated scale was abolished and rank based pay slabs were introduced for each rank. This revised scale was based on the depressed pay scale at IV CPC without taking into consideration the rank pay. Rank pay was doubled in the case of offrs from the rank of Capt to Brig @ Rs 400 to 2400/- .

The VI CPC abolished the ‘rank pay’ and introduced pay bands for all AF & Civ services with Grade pay to be paid in addition.

LOGIC FOR RE FIXATION: When you transit from one system of pay scales to another it is logical that the amount of rank pay which was carved out of the pay scale of officers should be merged back before carrying out refixation based on new pay bands as recommended by VI CPC. This was not done. The pay scale of offrs with corresponding Grade Pay’s were fixed in the pay bands without taking the rank pay into consideration upsetting the command structure in mixed org resulting in further lowering of status and pay scale of AF offrs starting with IV CPC. Each rank in the AF is a promotion to the next higher rank and at no stage can two ranks be clubbed in the same pay scale.

For example, the civil scale with start of Rs 15100 which is now in Pay Band – 4 which can be  compared with Lt Col’s scale with exactly similar start of Rs 15100 (13500 + Rank pay 1600) which is also in Pay Band – 4. If we compare these two scales, it can be seen that while the point to point fixation of a Lt Col with a start of Rs 15100 has been Rs 38530 in Pay Band – 4 with Grade pay of Rs 8000/-, the exactly similar corresponding civil officer with a start of Rs 15100 has been granted a fixation of Rs 39690 with GP of Rs 8700/-. Hence while a military officer with a 5^th pay commission start of Rs 15100 has been granted a pay fixation of Rs 38530, a civil officer with the same start of Rs 15100 has been placed on Rs 39690 as becomes clear from civil fitment tables for the scale starting with Rs 15100. This needs to be addressed and refixation carried out. This holds true for all other ranks.

So the correct fixation of pay of LT COL /COL/BRIG at 6 CPC would be:

LT COL 13500+1600 RP =15100 to Rs 39690/- in PB IV with grade pay of Rs 8700/-;

COL (15100+ 2000 RP) = 17100 to in PB IV @Rs  42120 and GP Rs 10000/-;

FIXATION OF PAY OF MAJ GENERAL / BRIG

The fixation of pay under IV & V CPC is controversial due to carving out of rank pay from the pay scales of offrs and thereafter deducting again at the time of fixation. The matter is subjudice awaiting final disposal orders in the Apex Court. Therefore to fix the pay scale of Brig would be incorrect and will lead to anomalies. Already there is case awaiting implementation where in  Brigs were drawing more pension than Maj Generals. It would therefore be appropriate to take the pay scales as existed at III CPC and fix the scales of Brig/Maj General with corresponding civ scales. Also Brig is a Higher Command rank with much greater responsibility and accountability. Proposed fixation for Brig/ Maj General would be in HAG/ HAG+ scale.

BRIG (16700+ 2400 RP) = 19100 to in HAG scale at Rs 67000- 79000/-.

MAJ GENERAL to be placed in HAG + scale at Rs 75500- Rs 80000/-

PAY FIXATION AND GRADE PAY FOR LT/CAPT/MAJOR

Traditionally Lt/Capt/ Major have been equated with Junior Time Scale (JTS)/Senior Time Scale (STS) and Junior Adm Grade (JAG). This should be maintained as given to IAS/IPS and the pay fixation should be same with same Grade Pay. Two additional increments should be granted at the time of pay fixation on promotion to the rank of Capt and Major as is being given to IAS/IPS. Like all other services the training period should be taken into account for pay and promotion.

PAY SCALE FOR LT/ CAPT/ MAJOR: PB 3 Rs 15600- Rs 39100/-

Grade Pay: LT Rs 5400/-; CAPT Rs 6600/-; MAJOR Rs 7600/-

No change in Military Service Pay is proposed till Seventh CPC

POINT NO 4: Pay Scale for Lt Generals

All Lt Generals should be given fixed salary of Rs 80000/-

A separate scale for Vice Chief’s/Army Cdr’s is recommended to be given. This could be Rs 90000/- . The scale of Service Chief’s should be increased to Rs One Lac. The scale of Cabinet Secy should also be increased to Rs One lac in line with service Chief’s

There is no supremacy involved. This is based on functional requirements which has taken a beating in recent times and needs to be restored.

POINT NO 5: COMMON SCALE FOR JCOs/ORs

Soldiering is a skilled profession. As of now there are two scales for JCOs/ORs as: PB1 Rs 5200-20200 and PB2 9300-34800. Both the pay bands are heavily skewed in favour of Civ employees who serve till 60 yrs as compared to JCOs/ORs who retire in their prime age of 37 -40 yrs and JCOs between 42-50 yrs. None of them will be able to reach their top of scale resulting in reduced pension due to early retirement with loss of earnings as compared to civs. Also due to age and rank based superannuation they cannot avail of the third assured career progression which all civs attain.

For example a Subedar on being promoted to Sub Major can serve only for 4 yrs at max and would retire. He will never reach top of PB2 at Rs 34800. Similar is the fate of Havaldar in PB1.

It is therefore prudent that a common scale be devised for JCOs/ORs with a higher start so that higher pension can be granted as a compensation for loss of earning due to early retirement. If in principle approval can be accorded for common scale for JCOs/ORs then the modalities can be worked out to the benefit of all ranks.

 

The Armed Forces are the last bastion of the nation. So therefore the armed forces personnel should get a higher start salary as compared to other CAPFs.(6650+GP2000). Also the CAPFs come under command of the armed forces when the Army is called for aid to civil auth / deployed for Ops. JCOs / ORs of the AF are classified into Gps X and Y with Gp X having an additional pay of Rs 1400/-. Gp Y should be abolished and the Gp Pay of X should be merged and given to all. Merger of Rs 1400 of X Gp pay with basic pay will increase the basic pay to Rs 8250/- in the pay band. If the request for increase in MSP by Rs 1000/- is also taken into account then it would be more prudent for all ranks of the AF from Sepoy to Subedar Major to be adjusted in a separate AF pay band of Rs 9300 to 25000.  No change in Grade pay is recommended. No change in Military Service Pay. This will ensure a higher pension also.

CoS: Armed Forces Pay n Pension Anomalies

COMMITTEE OF SECYS APPOINTED BY GOVT OF INDIA TO LOOK INTO PAY AND PENSION ANOMALIES OF ARMED FORCES PERSONNEL AND EXSERVICEMAN

The nine issues before the Committee of Secys (CoS) are all genuine and need to be resolved. 5 pertain to serving and 4 to ESM.

POINT NO 1: NON FUNCTIONAL UPGRADATION (NFU)

1.         Non Func Upgrad (NFU) has been given to all Gp A services after a gap of 2 yrs eg 1982 IAS Batch has been empaneled for Addl Secy .So all Gp A of 1980 batch will get pay n pension of Addl Secy in HAG+ scale and pension of 37750/- which is = Lt Gen in AF. In other words it is OROP through back door for all civs. Comparatively only 0.02% AF offrs reach Lt Gen rank. 99% AF offrs retire at COL rank with Pension of  26050/- that too after 26 yrs. Pension gap 11000/- Unfair.

2.         Under NFU, at 17-19 yrs Gp A get Grade pay (GP) of Jt Secy ie 10000/-. In AF GP 10000/- given to Maj Gens with 32 yrs service. Unfair.

Moreover this has created Comd n control problems  ie .Gp A civs drawing GP of 10000/- refuse to work under COL with Gp 8700/- or Brig GP 8900/- though technically Brig/Col are his superior.

               

3. This problem is compounded in mixed org  with whom Def Offrs  interact on functional basis, like MES Civ  Offrs, GREF Civ Offrs, Offrs  of  BSF, CRPF ,ITBP, Def Accts(IDAS), Test Audit(IA&AS), Ord Factory Bd etc, 

SOLUTION: All AF offrs should be extended benefit of NFU as per length of service subject to fulfilling conditions in previous rank. As on date offr reaches rank of Lt Col on completing 13 yrs service and COL by time scale on completing 26 yrs service if not promoted earlier by selection.  So effectively the Grade pay of COL should be Rs 10000/- and comparable with other AIS/Gp A service at same length of service.

Promotion by time scale to the rank of COL should be brought down from 26 to 21 yrs so that NFU can be given as given to Gp A Services; and at 26 yrs promotion by time scale to the rank of Brig should be introduced. This will ensure that all officers reach the scale and pension of Brig before retirement and can be given NFU of Maj General. Due to the pyramid promotion structure which is based on age and rank achieved the pay scale of Brig should be moved to HAG scale; Brig being a higher rank and that of Maj General to HAG +. This would bring at par Gp A pension of 37750/- (Addl Secy) to that of Maj General. A very fair proposition and it will ensure that all AF officers draw the pension of Maj Gen at the time of retirement, same as Gp A civs. In other words it will be All Ranks One Pension.