Reader's Mail for Veterans comments :Veteran Prabhjot Singh Chhatwal PLS Retd.

Dear Mr. Prabhjot Singh,
Thanks for your interaction. I have read your blogs on blogspot.com. Your efforts are appreciable.Some days ago, I sent a spit to Capt Davar on his views about the rally and issue of OROP. A mail received from him justifying his views supported by the judgements of Hon'ble Supreme Court of India is appended below. Please analyse it and post your comments accordingly.
Jagtar SinghEx-WO(Ludhiana

On Tue, 7/9/10, Praveen Davar wrote:
From: Praveen Davar Subject: OROPTo: Date: Tuesday, 7 September, 2010, 7:47 PMDear AllThe Indian Armed Forces are voluntary service and the terms of service are well known to us when we join the service, Dignity, honor, discipline and izzat associated with the forces has been severely damaged by the way some people are conducting the movement for OROP. Stooping to signing petition with blood is a new low in the abominable acts conducted by one group in public domain. Approx fifty to sixty thousand Ex Servicemen are added to the fraternity of Veterans every year. Imagine the needless negativity they have to encounter as a result of unconventional methods of dissent or communication with the government. May almighty grant the senior officers leading this movement wisdom to conduct the activities in a civilized manner resist the temptation of character assassination and attack on individuals. And for heaven’s sake let us not mislead the PBORs and officers and take them on a flight of fancy.I have always felt that we should be content with what we get and devote the rest of our post-service life for the cause of poor and needy. I have met thousands of Ex-Servicemen who say that they never expected such hefty pensions. We render disservice to the Nation, if we try and create dissatisfaction where it does not exist. My intention was never to hurt any ones sentiments and the statements made by me or anyone else was based on information given from within your ranks.The Supreme Court has also examined the OROP; petition filed by Ex Servicemen League (1991 1 SCR 158), as a sequel to the decision of the court in DS Nakara & Others case of KL Rathee Versus union of India 1997 (3) SLR 207 Versus Union of India, the court in the decision dated 29 Jan 1991 took the view that the claim of pre 1 Apr 1979 retirees being entitled to same pension as post 1 Apr 1979 retirees was untenable. The Supreme Court has taken similar view for civil side as well.The Defence Minister, Sh. A. K. Antony deserves the gratitude of Ex-Servicemen for stating in Parliament that the goal of OROP would be reached gradually. This has encouraged all Ex-Servicemen in the country. We appeal to all Ex-Servicemen organizations, especially retired officers, not to use any offensive or provocative language. The cause of Ex-Servicemen will suffer if IESM does not mend its ways and the harsh language it uses. Soldiers shed blood only on the battlefield. As Ex-Servicemen they can donate blood to the Red Cross Society/Hospitals for the needy. Signing letters in blood is unlike a soldier.Returning medals is not only unsoldierlike, but also unethical and immoral, especially in view of the fact that no govt in the past has done so much for the welfare of serving soldiers and Ex-Servicemen as the UPA-1 and UPA-2. Pay and pensions have gone up nearly 300% in the last 5 years which is unprecedented.Further, while presenting the Budget for 2008-09 the government substantially improved the pension of pre-January, 2006 Defence pensioners below officer rank and brought pre-October 10, 1997 pensioners on par with post- October 10, 1997 pensioners i.e. pre 2006 pensioners. Anomalies in some ranks of officers from Majors to Major General are being addressed. Congress has done for welfare of both serving soldiers and Ex-servicemen what no party has ever done, or will ever have the capacity to do. So let people not be misled by the false promises made by other parties in their manifestos or otherwise.We must also heed the appeal of Defence Minister not to return medals. Doing so, in my opinion, is an undignified, illegal and unconstitutional act. Let us control our emotions and give the govt time to resolve the OROP issue.Jai Hind & God bless us all!Praveen Davar

Welfare of Widows : Veteran Prabhjot Singh Chhatwal PLS Retd.

Dear Veterans. Regards.
A survey conducterd by Ex-Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen Association (Regd.) and Indian Ex-Services League, Punjab & Chandigarh has revealed shocking results.War widow of Flt. Lt. Gurbax Singh Ahuja of 1965 fame has been receiving the pension of mere Rs. 3500/- PM only without an element of dearness allowance instead of Liberalized Pension of about Rs. 20,000/- PM till May last in spite of the fact that she has been knocking at the door of Pension Sanctioning Authority i.e. Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (Pension), Allahabad through all concerned since 1987.Now with the intervention of IESL, Punjab & Chandigarh, her pension (Ordinary) has been increased to Rs. 8310/= (basic) + Dearness Allowance @ 35% w.e.f. 01-01-2006 by the concerned pension disbursing authority pending the case of granting Liberalized Pension by Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (Pension), Allahabad. The widow has received an amount of Rs. 4 lakhs as arrear with this revision.A letter dated 19-08-2010 by Air Headquarter, New Delhi addressed to Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (Pension), Allahabad has duly supported the entitlement of Liberalized Pension to the said war widow. As such, the pension of widow is expected to be revised by PCDA (P), Allahabad and she is likely to be granted Liberalized Pension of about Rs. 20,000/-PM with an arrear of Rs. 28-30 lakh after more than four decades with the recent efforts being made by this organization. This is not a solitary case of wrong disbursal of Defence Pension. A widow of Sub. Gurdial Singh of a village near Amloh (now district Fatehgarh Sahib) has been receiving the pension of Sepoy's widow till August, 2009 i.e. two months before her death. Similarly, Sub. Sher Singh of Patiala State Forces has been receiving Sepoy's pension till a few months before his death in 2008. IESL Punjab & Chandigarh has been instrumental in getting their pension revised to correct amount.The association has instructed its State & District Presidents to check the pensions of old widows, especially war widows to ascertain that they are receiving the correct amount of pension which is as follows.
Pre-2006 Ordinary Family Pension
Rank Basic D.A. Total
Upto the rank of Havaildar Rs. 3500/- 35 % Rs. 4725/-
Naib Sub. (Group-X) Rs. 5070/- 35% Rs. 6845/-
(Group-Y) Rs. 4650/- 35% Rs. 6278/-
Sub. (Group-X) Rs. 5190/- 35% Rs. 7007/-
(Group-Y) Rs. 4770/- 35% Rs. 6440/-
Sub.Major (Group-X) Rs.5250/- 35% Rs. 7088/- (Group-Y) Rs. 4830/- 35% Rs. 6526/-
Hony. Lt./ Regular Lt. Rs. 8100/- 35% Rs. 10935/-
Hony Capt./Regular Capt. Rs. 8310/- 35% Rs. 11219/-
Liberalized Pension (100% of notional pay of the Rank (Minimum) Rs.7000/- 35 % Rs.9450/-
Veteran Pabhjot Singh Chhatwal PLS Retd.
President ,
Ex-Soldiers,salors and Airmen Association (Regd.)Mob.098554-09128 Tele-Fax 0175-5000896

One Rank One Pension Issue: Veteran Prabhjot Singh Chhatwal PLS Retd.

Dear Veterans, Regards.
Find below two news items published in Express News Service and The Tribune.
Though Ex-Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen Association is not a party to steps being taken by IESM but it strongly condemns the statement given to press by no one else than an army veteran himself . He may belong to any party but should not give such statement to disseminate such wrong things.
At the same time, we appriciate the statement given in Parliament by Hon'ble Defence Minister, A.K. Antony in which he has stated that implementation of 'One Rank One Pension' is an ongoing process and further stated that it is a long process.
We are also thankful to Leader of the Opposition Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitely (BJP) who has supported the cause of ex-servicemen. We also appreciate the stand taken by Congress Members P.J. Kurien and S. Partap Singh Bajwa who have requested the govt. to look into the issue of thousands of Jawans who retire before the age of 40.
As such, we request the govt. of India to raise the pay and pension of personnel below the JCO's rank who have been hit hard and placed in Pay Band-I by the Sixth Central Pay Commission without paying any credence to the skill gained by them during the initial training of one year or so after the entry into Armed Forces. They have, also, not been duly compensated for the risk factor by paying them a meager amount of Rs. 2000/- as MSP. These personnel should be placed in Pay Band-II with consequential benefits of pay and pension, during the ongoing process, to arrest the resentment prevailing among them at present. This will prove a great step towards "One Rank One Pension".


Veteran Prabhjot Singh Chhatwal PLS Retd.
President
Ex-Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen Association (Regd.)

I

‘Ex-servicemen returned fake medals’

Express news service: Posted: Tue Aug 24 2010, 02:51 hrs

New Delhi: A day after over 2,000 retired military personnel returned their medals to President Pratibha Patil and also submitted a memorandum purportedly containing their signatures in blood in support of their demand for “one-rank one pay” for all, the Congress has alleged that the medals were fake and bought from local markets.
The party also alleged that the members of Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement (IESM) used a red chemical for their signatures.“The medals which were returned have been purchased from Sadar Bazar in the Delhi cantonment area. We have proof that they have been bought recently,” Praveen Davar, Secretary, AICC Ex-Service Department, said.Davar said IESM, which he termed a pro-BJP organisation, has been returning medals by the thousands to the President but not a single gallantry awardee has come forward to return a medal. “Not a single awardee of gallantry awards has returned his medal. This shows that the bravest of the brave soldiers do not approve of the activities of a handful of ex-servicemen being misled by disgruntled elements,” Davar said, adding that “the signatures were not in blood but in a red chemical that looks like blood”.

II

One-rank One-pension will take time: Antony

New Delhi: 25/08/2010: Even as ex-servicemen take the extreme step of returning their medals demanding one-rank-one-pension, the government on Wednesday clarified that it may not come very soon.
Replying to a zero hour mention by Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley (Bharatiya Janata Party) and supported by members across party lines including the Congress, Defence Minister A.K. Antony said that the implementation of one-rank-one-pension is an ongoing process."At the time we cannot implement one-rank-one-pension, but we are nearing the goal. It is a long process," Antony added.Raising the issue, Jaitley said that though it was mentioned in the budget speech of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, no steps have been taken so far for implementing the one-rank-one-pension system."Neither the 5th nor the 6th Pay Commission addressed the issue. The finance minister also indicated in his budget speech that a committee will be formed but nothing happened," Jaitley pointed out.He also said that ex-servicemen should not take extreme steps like returning their medals.
"The medal is an honour given to them by the nation. I therefore appeal to them not to return the medals," Jaitley said.
He was supported by Communist Party of India-Marxist member Sitaram Yechury and Congress member P.J. Kurien, among others.
"I would also request the Government to look in the issue of thousands of jawans who retire before the age of 40," Kurien said.
The Defence minister, however, said that though one-rank-one-pension was still far, a number of steps have been taken by the government to ensure that ex-servicemen are benefited.
"The Prime Minister appointed a committee to look into the issues of the ex-servicemen. The committee gave recommendations in five areas and all have been accepted," Antony said.
"Government has increased the pension of nearly 12 lakh ex-servicemen. We are also starting 197 additional polyclinics for them across the country," he pointed out.
The opposition, however, remained unsatisfied with the reply as BJP member S.S. Ahluwalia urged the government to talk to the ex-servicemen and settle the issue.
Over 5,000 ex-servicemen on Sunday returned their medals to protest the government's reluctance to accept their one-rank-one-pension demand. They also submitted a memorandum on the issue to President Pratibha Patil, the supreme commander of the armed forces.

Tele-fax: 0175 – 5000896.
Mob: 098554-09128
Email: prabhjot_singh0@yahoo.com

Ex- Soldiers, Sailors & Airmen
Association (Regd.)
# 3 Guru Ram Dass Nagar, Tripuri Road,

Patiala - 147 004.Punjab, India.

ESSAA/13/2010 (Reminder-1) Dt. 25 Aug, 2010

To
Secretary to Govt. of India,
Ministry of Defence,
Department of Defence Welfare,
101, Fourth Block,
New Delhi- 110011.

Sub. Omission and discrepancies in the Modified Parity in Pension.

Dear Sir,
Kindly refer to our letter dt. 1, July, 2010 in above connection. This organization has observed the following omissions and discrepancies affecting a large number of ex-servicemen and widows which need to be looked into and corrected at your level at the earliest to avoid further frustration and heartburn among the JCO's, SNCO's, NCO's, OR's and Widows.
1. Minimum pension for Defence Pensioners: Minimum pension of Rs. 3500/- for defence pensioners can not be justified by any stretch of law. The amount of minimum pension (Rs. 3500/-) for civilian was fixed by adding the minimum pay in band I i.e. Rs. 5200/- & grade pay of Rs. 1800/- and then divided by 2 which amounts to Rs. 3500/-.
Following the same principle, minimum pension for ex-servicemen amounts to Rs. 4600/- i.e. minimum Pay in Band I- Rs. 5200/- + Grade Pay- 2200/- + MSP Rs. 2000/- and then divided by 2. The additional element of MSP is exclusive for ex-servicemen without which there is no justification of granting minimum pension to ex-servicemen and this minimum pension be paid to widows and reservists too.
2. Grant of same pension to Hony Naib. Sub. as given to regular Naib Sub.: 6th Central Pay Commission has recommended this and the Govt. has already agreed, in principal, to implement the same but it has not been incorporated in the circular 430 dated 10-03-2010.
We request that the same should be implemented at the earliest.
3. Removal of the condition of 10 months pay: Sixth Pay Commission has recommended for removal of condition of 10 months pay in the rank for fixation of pension in that rank but in the orders for modified parity, the govt. has again considered the rank in which the pension was granted initially keeping in view the condition of 10 months pay in that rank. By this many ex-servicemen have suffered a great loss.
4. Discrepancies in the tables issued by Directorate of Pension in department of defence pensioner's welfare: It is further pointed out that there are many glaring discrepancies in the tables prepared by the Govt. in respect of pension of various ranks in Army & Air Force as given below.
As per the tables, certain junior ranks have been authorized more pension than the senior ranks. For example: Sepoy with 15 years of service in Group-X is entitled for Rs. 5368/- PM whereas Naik and Havaildar, with the same years of service and in the same group, are entitled for Rs. 5290/-PM & 5355/-PM respectively. We request the removal of these anomalies at the earliest.
5. Date of implementation of Modified parity in pension: There is no justification granting modified parity in pension to JCO's and below w.e.f. 01-07-2009 since the parity has been given between the pre-1996 and post 10-10-1997 retirees and the same benefit has been already been paid to Hony Officers and above w.e.f. 01-01-1996, way back in year, 1999. We request that orders for modified parity in pension (circular no. 430) be implemented w.e.f. 01-01-1996 instead of 01-07-2009.
In view of above we humbly request that the above omissions and discrepancies be corrected at the earliest to avoid further frustration among the ex-servicemen and widows who are otherwise satisfied with the modified parity in pension granted by the govt.


Sd/-
Veteran Prabhjot Singh Chhatwal PLS Retd.
President
Copy to:
1. Director (Pension/Policy) Ministry of Defence, 213, A Wing, Sena Bhawan, New Delhi for information and necessary action at his end in respect of Para 4 above. He is also requested to clarify the intention conveyed by the Govt. in the note below Para 3.5, page-2 of its letter no. PC 10 (1)2009-D (Pen/Policy) dt. 8th March, 2010. This refers to our verbal discussion in Pension Adalat at Pathankot on 22-07-2010.


Sd/-
Veteran Prabhjot Singh Chhatwal PLS Retd.
President

Message received from Tamil Nadu unit of ESSAA: Veteran Prabhjot Singh Chhatwal PLS Retd.

Dear Veteran, Regard.
The following message has been received from Tamil Nadu unit of ESSAA for being published in this blog.
Dear veterans,
Regards,First District unit(DHARMAPURI) of TN ESSAA will be formed on 4 July, 2010. Following members will be assuming office:
President- veteran S chinnasamy
VP-veteran S Subramanian
District Coordinator- veteran M Malligarchunan
Treasurer-veteran C Selvam
Joint Secretary- veteran P palani
District Organiser- veteran basuaraj
Election will be held for other positions and investiture ceremony will be held on the same day.Our beloved National President Veteran Prabhjot Singh Chhatwal PLS (Retd.) will be addressing the TN ESSAA meeting which is going to be held at Dharmapuri Municipal School. All are welcome. Interested members from other parts of Tamilnadu may contact TN ESSAA.
Veteran K KRISHNA MOORTHY(+919442946688)
Gen. Secretary
Ex-Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen Association Tamilnadu

Press Confrence by Ex-Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen Association at Patiala on 26-06-2010 at 11:45 AM

Dear Veterans,
Regards.
Ex-Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen Association (Regd.), in collaboration with Indian Ex-Services League, Punjab & Chandigarh, will hold a wide ranging Press Conference at Patiala on 26th June, 2010 at 11:45 AM to highlight the anomalies in circular no. 430 dated 10-03-2010 in which certain junior ranks have been authorized more pension than the senior ranks, to seek its implementation w.e.f. 01-01-1996 and its applicability to widow and reservist also. Association will seek a minimum pension of Rs. 4600/- in place of Rs. 3500/-. Association will also demand the removal of condition of ten months pay for fixation of pension and grant of pension to Hony. Naib Sub. equal to a regular Naib Sub. which the govt. has already agreed in principal. A large no. of News Paper correspondents and representative of T.V. channels are likely to attend the press conference.

Veteran Malkiat Singh
Gen. Secretary
Ex-Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen Association

Grant of Fixed Medical Allowance (FMA) to the Central Government Pensioners residing in areas not covered under CGHS- Veteran Prabhjot Singh Chhatwal

Friday, May 28, 2010
Grant of Fixed Medical Allowance (FMA) to the Central Government Pensioners residing in areas not covered under CGHS

N0.4/25/2008- P&PW (D )GOVERNMENT OF INDIAMINISTRY OF PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES & PENSIONS(DEPARTMENT OF PENSION & PENSIONERS/ WELFARE)

3rd Floor, Lok Nayak Bhawan, Khan Market,New Delhi-110 003, Dated the 26 May 2010.

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

Subject: Grant of Fixed Medical Allowance (FMA) to the Central Government Pensioners residing in areas not covered under CGHS.The undersigned is directed to say that in pursuance of Government's decision on the recommendations of Fifth Central Pay Commission, the Govt. had issued instruction vide this Department's O.M. No.45/57/97-P&PW(C) dated 19.12.97 for grant of Fixed Medical Allowance @ Rs.100/- per month to the Central Government pensioners/family pensioners residing in areas not covered under Central Government Health Scheme administered by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and corresponding health schemes administered by other Ministries/Departments for their retired employees for meeting expenditure on their day-to-day medical expenses that do not require hospitalization. Further clarifications were issued vide this Department's O.M. Nos. 45/57/97-P&PW(C) dated 24.8.98, 30.12.98 and 18.8.99.2. The demand for enhancement of FMA has been under consideration of the Government for some time past. Sanction of the President is hereby conveyed for enhancement of the amount of FMA from Rs.100/- to Rs.300/- per month. The other conditions for grant of FMA shall continue to be in force.3. These orders will take effect from 01.09.2008.4. These orders are issued with the concurrence of the Ministry of Finance (Deptt. of Expenditure) vide their I.D. Note No 347/E.V/2010 dated 14.5.2010 and in consultation with the Comptroller and Auditor General of India vide their UO No. 36-Audit (Rules)/28-2-9 dated 26.5.2010.6. Hindi version will follow.

(Rajsingh)Director