Rajya Sabha panel for ‘one rank, one pension
The Rajya Sabha petitions committee has recommended that the Centre implement the ‘one rank, one pension’ (OROP) for ex-servicemen and also constitute a separate commission to determine the pay, allowance and pension of the defence personnel, said Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar.
The report notes: “The financial liability of Rs1,300 crore is not very big amount to deny the parity in pension.” The committee rejected the Union finance ministry’s apprehension that acceptance of the demand will trigger similar request from other government employees. It pointed out that the terms and conditions of defence personnel and civil servants are vastly different and said the armed forces’ demand remained unresolved due to bureaucratic apathy.
The petitions committee was constituted following a petition co-filed by Chandrasekhar and it had tabled its report in the Rajya Sabha on December 19.
OROP implies that the pension entitled to the military personnel should be uniform for those in the same rank, same length of service, irrespective of the date of retirement. It currently depends on the length of service and rank of personnel on the day of their retirement and creates a feeling of injustice among earlier retirees. The OROP will bridge the gap between the rate of pension of current and past pensioners.
Ex-servicemen organisations have been raising this demand for a long time and taken to the streets, returned their medals and even signed memorandums in blood.
