Joining the nationwide tirade of “One rank, one pension”, the Indian Ex-servicemen Movement (IESM), Himachal chapter, has demanded all pending pay and pension anomalies created by the Sixth Pay Commission pertaining to the defense forces be settled.
In a press release issued here on Monday, IESM, Himachal Pradesh convener, Brig Khushal Thakur (retd), Yudh Seva Medal, alleged that despite the Supreme Court verdict on the rank pay case a year ago giving the veterans and war widows their long standing dues for over a decade, the defense ministry had been dragging its feet on its implementation on one pretext or the other.
He said the delay was amounting to justice denied to the soldiers, veterans, disabled soldiers and widows.
Thakur added that the Supreme Court after a long battle had envisaged re-fixation of pay for all officers of the Army, Navy and Air Force, who were eligible for “Rank Pay” with effect from January 1, 1986, the date of implementation of the Fourth Pay Commission. However, the defense ministry implementation letter of December 2012 changed it to “as on January 1, 1986”.
The Supreme Court order had also sought the re-designing of the minimum basic pay in the integrated pay scale of Fourth Pay Commission to avoid different basic pay to similarly placed officers but the defense ministry is yet to implement these orders and in fact recently announced the Seventh Pay Commission without resolving the pending anomalies of serving and retired soldiers, he rued.
{{/usCountry}}The Supreme Court order had also sought the re-designing of the minimum basic pay in the integrated pay scale of Fourth Pay Commission to avoid different basic pay to similarly placed officers but the defense ministry is yet to implement these orders and in fact recently announced the Seventh Pay Commission without resolving the pending anomalies of serving and retired soldiers, he rued.
{{/usCountry}}Thakur protested that all pending pay and pension anomalies created by the Sixth Pay Commission pertaining to the defense forces must be settled and not extended to the Seventh Pay Commission to ensure level playing field for soldiers and long pending justice.