Amended orders for Lt Cols’ pay notified

The armed forces headquarters on Tuesday notified amended orders to place the 15,000 Army Lieutenant Colonels, IAF Wing Commanders and Navy Commanders under Pay Band-4 of the Sixth Pay Commission.

After a seven-month-long fight demanding pay parity with their civilian counterparts, over 15,000 officers of the armed forces will take home enhanced salaries from this month.

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The armed forces headquarters on Tuesday notified amended orders to place the 15,000 Army Lieutenant Colonels, IAF Wing Commanders and Navy Commanders under Pay Band-4 of the Sixth Pay Commission.

However, these officers, who form the backbone of the armed forces’ fighting units, are not “entirely” happy with the notification, citing the lower Grade Pay of Rs 8,000 accorded to them compared to Rs 8,400 to their civilian counterparts under the new pay commission that came into effect on September 1 last year.

“The amended notification for placing Lt Cols and equivalents in Pay Band-4 of the Sixth Pay Commission has been issued today,” sources in the tri-services headquarters said in New Delhi.

“We are not entirely happy with it, as the parity in grade pay with our civilian services counterparts is not been met, though our long wait for enhanced pay is now over,” a Lt Col-rank officer in the Services headquarters in New Delhitold PTI.

But, the several lakhs of jawans, who form the fighting force, are still awaiting the notification for restoration of 70 per cent pensionary weightage, a Sixth Pay Commission anomaly that all sections of the government agreed was fully justified.