Maj. Navdeep.
This seems crazy.Every time the govt comes up with pensionary
benefits for veterans, instead of directing suo-moto revision by
the Pension Sanctioning Authorities or Pension Disbursing
Authorities in terms of the relevant orders, the retired service-
members are asked to apply to the concerned authorities for
revision of pension on complicated prescribed formats. But
what about the millions of former military members who do not
get a whiff of such revision orders and hence do not apply for
such upward revision ? Can the govt be allowed to retain what
rightfully belongs to such pensioners ?This issue needs to be
taken up with the govt at the earliest. A recent example would
be the improvement in disability / war injury pensionary awards
for which the affected personnel have been asked to apply on a
prescribed format. What to talk of circulating such circulars all
over, these documents are not even placed for public viewing on
any website by the Central Govt’s Department of Ex-servicemen
Welfare.
This is in sharp contrast to the Department of Pensions
on the civil side which proactively ensures that the information
of beneficial provisions reaches all concerned.But this is what
takes the pie : In the year 1998, the Govt of India had decided to
provide the benefit of 17 years of service for calculating pension
of Naiks (also Corporals and Leading Seamen) who had retired
between 01-01-1986 and 31-12-1995 with less than 17 years of
qualifying service. This benefit was also extended to Hony Naiks
and Time Scale Naiks. But keeping in view the red-tapist tradition
of our State machinery, instead of revising the pension suo-moto
on the basis of the data available with Record Offices or PCDA(P),
such affected personnel were asked to apply on a prescribed
application form for the said revision. Now don’t ask how these
poor guys were expected to learn about these orders or the
application forms, I have no answer !.
with the application forms and have directed suo-moto revision
without requirement of a request from the pensioners’ side.
Very prompt indeed, 1998 the orders were issued, and we have
woken up in 2010.
These layers and layers of procedures is what we need to
shed at the earliest.
