Dear Colleagues,
I met the Defence Minister today to discuss progress of some ongoing cases. Issues covered ensue.
OROP
He repeated the by-now-well-known government stand that OROP cannot be given in one go for fear of evoking a similar demand from civilian employees and that we are gradually moving towards narrowing the gap. I clarified that we have no objection to the term OROP being changed for record purposes by some other term like ‘military service pension’ as long the old and new pensioners are equated. I cited the example of the Military Service Pay that was granted exclusively for defence forces and there was not a whimper from others.
Widows’ Pension Enhancement
I stressed that after the Defence Minister confirmed over four months ago that he had cleared the proposal, the file is still on the bureaucratic circuit and that this does no good to the credibility of the high office. I gave my interpretation that it was part of the same Cabinet Secretary’s Committee report where the widows had been erroneously left out and hence it should not need any fresh financial approval. He said it would. I nudged him to take up the matter with the Finance Minister and he made a note.
The Defence Minister clarified that he has already had an official meeting with the three Services and that they would send a comprehensive proposal (including ESM problems). He would then take it personally to the PM soon after the Parliamentary session gets over on 20 May 2012. By that time the new budget would also be in effect.
Miscellaneous Points
Not unexpectedly, the discussion became wide ranging. Some points that could be of interest are:
• Reducing government doggedness in pursuing court cases involving serving personnel and the veterans that the government loses at lower courts. He reiterated his already having issued directions that each case be examined on merit.
• Need to control the bureaucracy that enjoys unbridled power with no accountability. Having cited concrete examples from history I repeated the term I had coined in a TV debate on 30 March, “We are a democracy ruled by the bureaucracy”.
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Best regards,
Lt Gen Raj Kadyan
Chairman IESM
262, Sector - 17A
Gurgaon - 122 001
