The Central Government cannot sit on ex-servicemen’s demand for “one rank, one pension” any longer. File photoThe Central Government cannot sit on ex-servicemen’s demand for “one rank, one pension” any longer. This delay in taking a decision is humiliating and demoralising to our defence forces. The way the police treated the veterans agitating for this demand on the eve of the Independence Day does not suggest that the government is sympathetic to their cause.
Defence personnel are duty bound to serve wherever they are needed, according to army rules. The terms of their employment and wage are totally different from police or other service staff. They lose out on so many service benefits as they retire early so as to keep the force young and combat ready.
This difference is most when it comes to pensions. Up to 1973, the average monthly pension in the army was 70 per cent of the last drawn salary. The 3rd Central Pay Commission in 1973 cut it to 50 per cent of salary. At the same time, the pension for other government employees was raised to 50 per cent from 30 per cent. There were anomalies in the pension of staff retired before 1973 and after that. This was also evident in the pension received by personnel retired from different forces. Every central pay commission since then was required to address these problems. Even now this remains an irritant in the defence forces.
The government formed a 10-member parliamentary committee chaired by Koshiyari to study the issue in the face of continued protests by ex-servicemen. The committee found that the demand for “one rank, one pension” was legitimate and it proposed several remedies. But no government has shown the will to implement them. The bureaucracy stonewalled the proposals, complicating the issue further.
The defence budget of 2015-16 has earmarked Rs 54,500 crore for the armed forces which include 4 lakh civilian staff. The civilian staff in the defence forces does not come under the definition of “one rank, one pension” as they retire only at the age of 60. The government would need Rs 8,000 crore to Rs 12,000 crore to implement the “one rank, one pension” scheme, according to latest estimates.
The 5th and 6th pay commissions proposed a solution to the problem by redeploying veterans to other central police forces. Those commissions suggested accommodating almost all of ex-servicemen into police forces. The 6th commission’s suggestion to fill the vacancies in central forces with ex-servicemen was not implemented due to opposition from service associations.
The Koshiyari Commission said that the ex-servicemen who have retired from the same rank with equal number of years’ experience should be given the same pension without regard to their date of retirement. Any future rise in their pension should be equal to the amount received by other pensioners. Military service has two factors -- rank and duration of service. The rank is granted by the President and related to responsibility and other factors. The rank stays with the officer even after retirement. “One rank, one pension” has been unanimously approved by the Koshiyari Commission.
The Congress and BJP governments had doled out loads of promises to ex-servicemen. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi had reiterated this promise during the general elections. The Defence Minister too made similar promises on several occasions. But these are never implemented due to counter pressure from some quarters.
We have come to a strange situation where the soldiers and ex-servicemen and their families are losing their faith in the Prime Minister and the Defence Minister. The political leadership is humiliating the soldiers who are used to obey the superiors’ orders. When soldiers start thinking that the chiefs of staff are making hollow promises on the demand for “one rank, one pension”, it causes a dent in the defence force’s morale.
The ball is in the Prime Minister’s court. Parliament and the President have agreed to the definition of “one rank, one pension” as provided by the Koshiyari Commission. Any reservation from the part of the Prime Minister on solving the issue would be dangerous to the country. He keeps saying he would find a solution. The question is “When?”
(The writer is former Defence Secretary)
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