A Discussion

18 September 2015School of Social Sciences

IGNOU, New Delhi

Col Rajive Kohli, PhDkohli9r@gmail.com

“The Mauryan soldier does not enrich the Royal treasuries nor fills the Royal granaries. He does not carry out trade and commerce nor produce scholars… He does not build roads and ramparts nor dig wells and reservoirs. He does not do any of this directly.            “The soldier only and merely ensures that the tax, tribute and revenue collectors travel forth and return safely; that the farmer tills, harvests, stores and markets his produce unafraid ….. that the tutor and the priest teach and preach in peace…            “Pataliputra reposes each night in peaceful comfort, O King, secure in the belief that the distant borders of Magadha are inviolate and the interiors are safe and secure, thanks only to the Mauryan Army standing vigil with naked swords and eyes peeled for action, day and night, in weather fair and foul, all eight praharas (round the clock), quite unmindful of personal discomfort and hardship, all through the year, year after year.           

Kautilya discretely but firmly reminded the king that his safety and security as well as of his empire depend on the trust and sacrifice of his soldiers.

            “While the citizenry of the State contributes to see that the State prospers and flourishes, the soldier guarantees it continues to EXIST as a State! To this man, O Rajadhiraja, you owe a debt: please, therefore, see to it, on your own, that the soldier continuously gets his dues in every form and respect, be they his needs or his wants, for he is not likely to ask for them himself.”

            Then: “The day the soldier has to demand his dues will be a sad day for Magadha for then, on that day, you will have lost all moral sanction to be King!”

SIGNIFICANCE of PENSION

The pensioner would be able to live: (i) Free from want, with decency, independence and SELF RESPECT and

(ii) At a standard equivalent at the pre-retirement level.

Hon’ble Supreme Court on Pension Pension is a RIGHT; not a bounty or gratuitous payment. The payment of pension does not depend upon the discretion of the Government but is governed by the rules and a government servant coming within those rules is entitled to claim pension

The pension payable to a government employee is earned by rendering long and efficient service and therefore can be said to be a deferred portion of the compensation for service rendered Pension also has a broader significance in that it is a social-welfare measure rendering socio-economic justice by providing economic security in old age to those who toiled ceaselessly in the hey-day of their lifePension as a retirement benefit is in consonance with and in furtherance of the goals of the Constitution. The goals for which pension is paid themselves give a fillip and push to the policy of setting up a welfare state.

Why military pensions are differentUntil 1973, officers drew 50% of their last drawn salary as pension every month and jawans/junior commissioned officers drew 70%. But this changed after the Third Pay Commission’s suggestions came in that year: military pensions were reduced and aligned with civilian pensions.

Many of those who resist One Rank One Pension argue that, given the alignment in military and civilian pensions, the scheme for the military may prompt similar calls from others. Their argument is, however, misplaced. Notwithstanding the pensions, the military is distinct from other government services.

To start with, armed forces personnel do not get to serve as long as those in the civil services. While the retirement age for civil servants is 60 years, 85% soldiers are compulsorily retired between 35 and 37 years of age and another 12% to 13% soldiers between 40 and 54 years.

Further, civil servants are protected under Section 47 of the Disability Act and cannot be discharged by the government on account of disability until they reach the retirement age. This section doesn’t apply to the defence forces and they can be discharged anytime on account of disability.

Forgo constitutional rights; hard conditions, subject to harsh laws

Some FactsThe Indian Armed Forces are voluntary forces,no conscription. Join as jawans or officers for a variety of reasons and, among them, is the security of a job. Job reasonably secure but not or the entire working life. 85% retire by the age of 38 years and another 10 per cent retire by the age of 46 years. No guarantee of a post-retirement job.Retirement at an early age is good and necessary to keep the forces young and fighting fit.

Hence the case for an honourable pension.

Other reason to make pension attractive to attract new volunteers. Attrition rates and vacancy levels alarmingly high Armed Forces to remain voluntary forces, recruitment must remain robust. The promise of an honourable pension is an important factor in recruitment.OROP is an honourable pension.

Chronology

1947 to 50s• Initially bulk of IAS, IPS and defence officers used to retire as deputy

secretary, SSP or Maj/ Lt Col, as it should be in a service based on meritocracy. Look at the spectacle now in the civil services wherein merit has been given the go by and every one who gets in just keeps getting promoted by time scale, without any filtering. Only the armed forces still select only the best in the available pool of officers, JCOs and Jawans. Governance in the country is not to be proud of while, the Services earn a good name be it in peace or war. (they are despised by peers in other services, from the same stock but the results are quite different)

• 1950: special commission was setup to fix the salaries of the Services. Then, while the Service officers were given an increment of Rs 50 every two years, the civilians fixed Rs 25 pa for themselves. Thus taking home Rs 300 extra every alternate years. The soldiers who had just snatched J&K back from Pakistan were taken for a ride because they trusted the government to look after them.

• In early 1950s India sent first peace keeping contingent to Gaza and thereafter many more and earned kudos for the country. No one knows that the soldier gets only a third of the daily allowance that the UNO pays for each soldier. The government pockets most of it and earns out of the sweat and blood the soldier sheds.

1960 -70• 1965 Indo-Pak war India annexed more territory and cause more casualties on the enemy and did great

damage to its war making ability. But how were the soldiers rewarded? The IAS and IPS upgraded themselves in precedence and pay and in 1970 all government services were given a raise on the sly. We got it in 1971/72, when we learned about it. While a soldier got Rs 50 to 150 as high altitude allowance while living in a bunker at 13,000 to 15,000ft above msl the civil servant living in a bungalow with family, in Towang or Bomdila collected 25% of his pay as "Inner Line Allowance".

• In 1971 the armed forces gave a gift to the country by splitting Pakistan into two countries, and captured over 90,000 POWs. The 3rd CPC made a major democratic move in 1973! JCOs & OR getting 70% and officers 50% as pension were brought on par with the civil servants who had been drawing 33% as pension. Once again they benefited themselves without any equivalent improvement for the soldiers.

• In 1972 soon after the war was over the state governments issued letters that Deputy Commissioner will henceforth be senior to Brigadiers and Chief Secretaries will be senior in their own states to Army Commanders, who were responsible for law and order and disaster relief in 4 to 6 states. So the Annual civil- military conferences which were held at Army Command HQ since decades became a joke, because if one CS did not attend no one else came!

• 1973: MOD terminates OROP the basis for deciding pension of soldiers ‘which had been in vogue for 26 years since independence’ through an ex parte administrative order. Armed Forces pensions before 1973 because of early retirement, conditions of military service, were about 70 percent of the pay of rank at which they retired. In 1973, the pension of civilian government servant was increased from 33 percent to 50 percent, and that of armed forces personnel, who have far shorter careers, and more challenging service conditions, was decreased from 70 percent to 50 percent of last pay drawn.

• 1980s: The 4th CPC was a disaster as Maj AK Dhanapalan found out that the bureaucracy has cunningly taken the rank pay out of the pay and called it a gift to the officers. It took over a two decades to rectify it through the orders of the Supreme Court and another half a decade to implement it. [ The case was FINALLY resolved in the SC in 2012 - for pay & allowances applicable from Jan 1986 !! 26 YEARS THERAFTER !! In short, service officers were SHORT CHANGED by the BABUS.

• 49 anomalies were put up by the Services after the 5th CPC. A committee was formed under the defence secretary who ruminated over them for 4 years and produced a zero. While the demands of the civil servants were agreed to because they had threatened a strike.

• 1991: OROP is considered by Sharad Pawar. In 1992, the Government grants a 'one time increase', instead of OROP.

• 1997: 5 CPC. .Government approves 5 CPC recommendation of full parity between pre and post 1/1/1986 pensioners and a modified parity between pre and post 1/1/1996 to all pensioners including soldiers, but ignores OROP. Government decision to accept 5 CPC depress military pensions, including that of General Officers who, in an precedent action, file a lawsuit against the Government. After protracted litigation, strongly contested by the UPA Government, the Supreme Court of India rules in favor of the litigants.

• 23 November 2002: Sonia Gandhi at Chandigarh declares that she and her party support grant of OROP. OROP is included in the Party’s election Manifesto.

• in 2003, a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence recommended it, and said most categorically that it was “a debt” the Indian Republic had to discharge, a debt that the Union Government must honour and pay.

• 2006: 6th CPC submit report. Its stand on ‘One Rank One Pension' is ambivalent. 6CPC recommends that “extant provisions may continue“. The acceptance of the 6 CPC by the government provokes widespread dismay amongst ex-servicemen. For the first time Ex-servicemen engage in public protest and threaten hunger strikes. “The Sixth Pay Commission has done inestimable damage to civil-military relations”, and giving vent to the general mood says, “The protest rallies are actually a manifestation of the seething anger which many veterans carry as baggage accumulated during service. We all seem to have very bitter memories of the shoddy treatment meted out to us by civil servants.

• The 6 CPC recommended that in future posts in the "CPOs/defence civilian organisations" should be filled by lateral transfer of Armed Forces personnel, including Short Service Commissioned Officers, after they complete their term of military service

• 2008: OROP protest gained momentum following Government decision to [a] disregard OROP; [b] grant time bound higher pay grades and ranks to civilian and Police officers, who wears army badges of rank, at fixed intervals, independent of the job requirement, or span of responsibilities; [c] sanction assured automatic pay promotions, to all officers of All India Services, and the police, under what has been called the "Non-Functional Up-gradation" (NFU), and [d] terminate "traditional pay parity between the commissioned officers and the AIS“.  Public protest by armed Forces veterans escalate.• 16 December 2008: Ex-servicemen begin a relay fast at Jantar Mantar. The peaceful protest is largely ignored by the government. Veteran decide to surrender of their war medals, including war and gallantry medals.  • 8 February 2009: ESM march to the Rastrapati Bhavan to meet and surrendered their medals to the President and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, who refuses to meet with the ESM. Instead ESM are met by by junior official in the president's secretariat who collects the medals. The presidential slight and “studied disrespect" fuels ESM grievance.

NON FUNCTIONAL FINANCIAL UPGRADATION(NFFU)

6TH CENTRAL PAY COMMISSION ON REQUEST OF ALL GROUP ‘A’ SERVICES (IAS, IFS, IPS, IRS ETC) RECOMMENDED NFFU TO OVERCOME SO CALLED STEEP STAGNATION

FOR IAS STAGNATION MEANS 100% IAS OFFICERS BECOMES JT SECY (MAJ GEN) ONLY AT 19 YEARS SERVICE (WHERE AS ONLY 0.8% OFFICERS BECOME MAJ GEN AT 30 YEARS SERVICE)

GETTING PROMOTION AS JT SECY AT 19 YEARS SERVICE IS UNBEARABLE AND IS REQUIRED TO BE OVER COME BY NFFU

IF IAS OFFICER OF A BATCH BECOMES A JOINT SECY

DISPARITY DUE TO NFU

14 Yrs

LT GEN

MAJ GEN

COL

MAJ

BRIG

IAS

HAG SCALE

GP 10,000₹

GP 8,900₹

GP 8,700₹

GP 6600₹

LT COL GP 8,000₹

DIR

JS

AS

GP ‘A’ , BRO & MES

ARMED FORCES

26 Yrs

14 Yrs

20 Yrs

30 Yrs

14 Yrs

22 Yrs

32 Yrs

16 Yrs

16 Yrs22 Yrs

36 Yrs0.2 %

32 Yrs0.4 %

26 Yrs3 %

15 Yrs

8.7 %

24 September 2012: UPA government announces that it has approved OROP. It says it has set aside Rs 2,300 crore has been set aside for the OROP scheme. However, there are no plans to implement OROP, and it remains un-implemented.

• On 27 February 2014: A K Antony, Defence Minister in UPA Government, says that UPA will implement OROP by 1 April 2014.

• 10 July 2014: Arun Jaitley, FM and RM, in his maiden Budget Speech in parliament, says, "We reaffirm our commitment to our brave soldiers. A policy of OROP has been adopted by the Government to address the pension disparities. We propose to set aside a further sum of Rs 1,000 crore to meet this year’s requirement"

• 2014: periodic homilies; part-time RM Arun Jaitley to delegation of veterans stunned by the encounter moralised and hectored them that they should reduce their expectations of OROP. RM Parrikar made a bizarre statement that only “80 per cent of OROP will be paid… because there is never 100 per cent in everything”.

• 17 Feb 2015: RM Parrikar approves proposal for implementation of OROP, estimated to cost Rs 8600 crores. The proposal is forwarded by the MOD, to MoF on 17 Mar 2015.

13 Sep 2013 Rewari: Modi promised OROP within 100 days, once his government was formed!

• 22 June 2015: Ex-servicemen announce intent to boycott golden jubilee events to mark the 1965 war with Pakistan, including felicitation of 1965 War Veterans. Ex-Servicemen also announce intent to boycott all government functions including at-home, and the Ex-Servicemen contingent at the Republic Day Parade. Veteran of various battles say "We don't wish to be treated as showpieces, to be rolled out for ceremonies and discarded thereafter.“

• 6 July 2015: Anna Hazare, veteran of 1965 war, wrote to PM "We have to take care of our soldiers and farmers. Making hollow announcements for their welfare and actually implementing them are different things”

• 11 July 2015: 5 retired Lieutenant Generals, four Major Generals and one Air Marshall of the Indian Air Force, joined the protest at JM.

• 21 July 2015: Rao Inderjit Singh, Minister of State for Defence, in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, confirmed "principle of OROP for the armed forces has been accepted". In response to a question he denied that OROP is under consideration for paramilitary forces.

• 26 July 2015: Kargil vijay divas run in Delhi.

PM Narendra Modi promised OROP once again

• 23 Aug 2015: 5000 ESMs carried out a candlelight march to Amar Jawan Jyoti from their protest site, Jantar Mantar.

A Joint Commissioner of Police was sent to apologise.

10 former Chiefs of the Armed Forces of India (7 Former chief of Indian Army staff, 2 Chiefs of Air Staff, and 1 Chief of Naval Staff), in a unprecedented joint open letter urged Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister, to order an inquiry into the brutal police action by Delhi Police against the peaceful gathering of veterans in Jantar Mantar, on Independence Day eve and to resolve the OROP issue expeditious.

SOME DATA

• NUMBER OF PENSIONERS - 24 LAKHS FROM THE ARMED FORCES + WIDOWS

• PENSION BUDGET - Rs 40,000 OF DEFENCE PERSONNEL CRORES

The Legal Position

In 1983, the Supreme Court had ruled in the case of DS Nakra and others vs Union of India that “pension is not a bounty nor a matter of grace depending upon the sweet will of the employer. It is not an ex-gratia payment, but a payment for past services rendered."

The apex court spoke again on this issue in the case of Union of India & Maj Gen SPS Vains & Others in 2009. It ruled then that no defence personnel senior in rank could get a lower pension than his junior irrespective of the date of retirement, and that similarly placed officers of the same rank should be given the same pension irrespective of the date of retirement.

On February 17 this year, the court, while hearing a contempt petition filed by Maj Gen (Retd) SPS Vains, directed the Centre to implement its six-year-old verdict and follow the OROP principle for retired armed forces personnel. It reminded the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government that the party had promised to do so in the run-up to last year’s Lok Sabha elections.

The bench, comprising Justices TS Thakur and AK Goel, warned the government of contempt if it failed to abide by the order within three months. “We make it clear that no further time will be granted for the purpose of [the] implementation of the judgement,” it told additional solicitor general Pinky Anand.

COMMENTS OF HON’BLE SUPREME COURT ON TREATMENT GIVEN BY GOVT OF INDIA TO THE DEFENCE SERVICES PERSONNEL

CIVIL APPEAL NO 4474 OF 2005 BETWEEN CAPT CS SIDHU Vs UNION OF INDIA IN THE DIVISION BENCH COMPRISING OF

HON’BLE JUSTICE MARKANDEY KATJUHON’BLE JUSTICE A.K. PATNAIK

Before parting with this case, we regret to say that the Army officers and Army men in our country are being treated in a shabby manner by the government. In this case, the respondent, who was posted at a high altitude field area and met with an accident during discharge of his duties, was granted a meager pension as stated in Annexure-P3 to this appeal. This is a pittance (about Rs. 1000/- per month plus D.A.).

If this is the manner in which the Army personnel are treated, it can only be said that it is extremely unfortunate. The Army personnel are bravely defending the country even at the cost of their lives and we feel that they should be treated in a better and more humane manner by the Governmental authorities, particularly, in respect of their emoluments, pension and other benefits

ALLOCATION FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2014-15

• Extracts of Vote on Account speech by Finance Minister

“I am happy to announce that Govt has accepted the principle of OROP for the Defence Forces. This decision will be implemented prospectively from the FY 2014-15.The requirement for 2014-15 is estimated at Rs 500 Crores and as an earnest of the UPA Govt commitment, I propose to transfer a sum of Rs 500 Crores to the Defence Pensioner Account in the current FY”.

UNION BUDGET : PENSIONsTotal Pension Allocation FY 2015-16 88000 Cr BreakdownArmed Forces 54500 Cr

Armed Forces 33000 CrDef Civ 22500 Cr

All India Services 88000 - 54500 = 33500 CrCategorizingThose who "Superannuate" - AIS & Def Civ 100%Armed Force superannuation (Gens n Lt Gens) 0.0014% (93/63200) Pension DemandsArmed Forces 33000 Cr i.e. 37.5%AIS + Def Civ 33500 + 22500 = 56000 Cr i.e. 62.5% Per Capita PensionArmed Forces 33000 Cr / 25.0 lac = 1,32,000:00 / yearDef Civ 22500 Cr / 4.0 lac = 5.63,000:00 / yearAIS 33500 Cr / ???? AIS + Def Civ 56000 Cr / Strength = Estimated to be over 4-5,00,000 / year Ratios of Serving : PensionersArmed Forces 1 : 1.7AIS n Def Civ 0.53 : 1No one in his right frame of mind should ever question thisSIMPLEIf the Govt has accepted that the Armed Forces have got be "Fighting Fit”. The Govt needs to answer WHY has 50% of retirees NOT been inducted into PMS, IPS, State Police etc

What is orop? On 26 February 2014, the Ministry of Defence defined OROP and the following definition was communicated to the Chiefs of the three Services: “OROP implies that uniform pension be paid to the Armed Forces personnel retiring in the same rank with the same length of service irrespective of their date of retirement and any future enhancement in the rates of pension to be automatically passed on to the past pensioners. This implies bridging the gap between the rate of pension of the current pensioners and the past pensioners, and also future enhancements in the rate of pension to be automatically passed on to the past pensioners.”

PRINCIPLE : OROP

• Two military personnel in same rank and equal length of service should get same pension irrespective of date of retirement.

• Any future enhancement in the rates of pension be automatically passed on to the past pensioners.

On 5 September 2015, the Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar announced that the government has accepted the concept of OROP and will implement it. In a statement issued by Defence Minister, he said "Despite huge financial burden, the government has taken a decision to implement the One Rank One Pension. Benefit of OROP will be given with effect from July 1, 2014, a date immediately after the present government assumed office". The government has accepted all the demands of veterans except annual revision of Pension. The government has decided to revise the pension after every five years. Also, OROP arrears are to be paid in four half-yearly instalments; all widows, including war widows, to be paid arrears in one instalment. To begin with, OROP would be fixed on the basis of calendar year 2013. Pension will be re-fixed for all pensioners retiring in the same rank and same length of service

Government's Offer What veterans want

Effective from July 1, 2014 April 1, 2014

OROP will be average of minimum and maximum pension scale in 2013

Base for pension should be maximum of the pension scale in 2013

Revision every 5 years One or two years

One-member judicial commission to submit report in six months

Five-member team under Defense Minister to submit report in one month

05 sep 2015RM Manohar Parrikar on Saturday announced the implementation of the long delayed One Rank One Pension (OROP) for ex-servicemen.

Reject the objectionsThe sticking points are entirely due to bureaucratic back-pedalling and the inability of the Government to overrule the objections. The promise must prevail over the objections, even if some of them appear valid. The promise was to implement OROP from 1 April 2014, and not 1 July 2014. The promise was same pension to personnel retiring in the same rank with the same length of service, and not grant of same pension by looking into the cause of retirement.The promise was that future enhancements in the rate of pension will be automatically passed on to the past pensioners, and not that the adjustment will be made every five years.OROP is indeed a defined benefit pension and different from the National Pension System (NPS) which is a contributory pension scheme. A person who has a short working life in the Armed Services cannot contribute enough during that period to earn an honourable pension. Hence OROP.

OROP HAS BEEN GRANTED! WHY AM I SAD?

First, some facts for the uninitiated:-• As per the Supreme Court, Pension is not ‘charity’ but ‘deferred payment for services rendered’.• The matter of OROP was studied by the Koshyari Committee of the Parliament in 2011. The Committee with 10 MPs from different parties established the following:-Armed Forces were in the receipt of OROP from 1947 to 1973. (Para 10.2 of the Report).Armed Forces cannot be equated to Civilians: They retire much earlier and have totally different conditions of service. (Para 11.2 of the Report).Till 1973 Armed Forces had a separate Pay Commission. Bringing them at par with the Civilian Employees was not a well-considered decision. (Para 11.4 of the Report).• Till 1973, Armed Forces got 70% of last pay drawn as pension while civilian employees got only 30%. After 1973, both were brought at par to 50%. (This is, perhaps the only instance in Independent India where pay/pensions of a cadre have been reduced).• In 2008 officers of Civil Services were granted NFU (Non-functional upgrade). Thus they all draw much higher salaries while in Service and retire at the Apex Scale, which has already been granted OROP. (Ref Avay Shukla “The bitter truth aboutOROP”, Hillpost, 17 Aug 2015. Shukla is a 1975 Batch IAS officer who retired in 2010 and is in receipt of OROP).• In a recent court judgement all Central Armed Police Forces (BSF, CISF, CRPF, ITBP and SSB) have also been granted NFU (and thus OROP).• Hence all others with whom equations were drawn in 1973 now get OROP. Only the Armed Forces do not!

Etched onto the wall of a sentry box in Gibraltar is an unsigned indictment from an unknown soldier. You imagine him there many wars ago, keeping watch and weighing his prospects for a normal life.

God and the soldier, all men adore In time of danger and not before. When the danger is passed and all things righted, God is forgotten, and the soldier slighted.