|
Defence Notes
Pay Commission Anomalies
LET’S NOT DEMORALISE DEFENCE FORCES
By Col. (Dr.) P. K. Vasudeva (Retd.)
New Delhi, September 17, 2008
Prior to the appointment of a Sixth Central Pay Commission
(CPC) for better pay scales for Central Government employees
including the defence services, the three Services chiefs had
asked the Government for a separate Pay Commission for defence
services. The reason: there are different service conditions,
which have not been appreciated by the previous pay
commissions.
The Service chiefs have been proved right. They are “unwilling
to implement” the Sixth CPC report as it is. Recent media
reports state that the three Chiefs have apprised Defence
Minister A K Antony and want the "anomalies" removed and the
status and parity of pay scales to be restored.
After sensing the mood, Antony is learnt to have assured the
Chiefs that he would take up the matter with the Government.
Till then, the three Chiefs have sought that implementation
for officer ranks be “held in abeyance.” They have, however,
thanked the Government for hiking salaries of Personnel Below
Officer Ranks (PBORs) as desired. But, their grievance that
the disparity between service officers and their civil service
counterparts not only remains, but has increased. Basically
they point out:
• Disparity in Pay Bands: The chiefs claim the Committee of
Secretaries (CoS) moved the Director rank into Pay Band 4 but
retained Lt. Col and its equivalent in other services in Pay
Band 3. Earlier, they claim, a Lt. Col got the same pay as an
IAS Director and Rs 800 more than a non-IAS Director. Now he
gets Rs 14000 less than an IAS director and Rs 11000 less than
a non-IAS director.
• Disparity in Grade Pay: The CoS agreed to their demand to an
increase in grade pay across middle-rank officers but also
increased the grade pay of civil servants, thereby retaining
disparity, the chiefs say. For example, he Pay Commission
recommended Rs 6600 for a civil servant equivalent to a Major
who was to get Rs 6100. After review, a Major will now get Rs
6600 but his equivalent in the civil service will get Rs 7600.
• Restricting elite list: The new category of HAG-plus (Higher
Administrative Grade) includes all DGs and DGPs but only Army
Commanders and their equivalents in other services, the chiefs
complain. Their demand: all Lt. Gen officers be included in
this category. The Defence Ministry is said to have conveyed
that the objections are being looked into and a response will
be given soon.
While Antony appears to be sympathetic, the Finance Ministry
has strongly denied any "injustice" to the Armed forces in
this new pay structure. Its officials are emphatic:"In no way
are the defence personnel getting any lesser pay than their
civilian counterparts. In fact, they will carry home fatter
pay packets than civilian services and paramilitary under the
new salary structures of the CPC."
Quoting the new feature of Military Service Pay (MSP) in the
CPC, officials say the Armed forces officers would uniformly
get Rs 6,000 more, whereas such a pay was not offered to the
civilians and the paramilitary. "Under the 5th CPC there was
no compensation provided for the risk factor involved in the
defence personnel's job profile. MSP has taken care of that
lacuna in the 6th CPC."
Also, the MSP would be counted along with the Basic Pay of
Armed Forces officers for calculating the Dearness Allowance
(DA). "That would provide them with Rs 960 DA and the amount
would increase as the DA is hiked," is another argument. In
addition, defence officers posted in Siachen would get an
allowance of Rs 14,000 and an High Altitude Allowance of Rs
8,000, which adds up to a total of Rs 22,000. Earlier, the
personnel were getting only Rs 7,000 as Siachen Allowance and
Rs 4,000 as High Altitude Allowance, adding up to Rs 11,000.
Citing an example of the entry-level defence officers in the
rank of Lieutenants and equivalent in Navy and Air Force, the
officials explain that under the 5th CPC under the pay scale
of Rs 8,250-10,500, they received a salary totalling Rs 15,252
as on December 31, 2005. "On January 1, 2006, from when the
6th CPC would be effective, a Lieutenant under the Pay Band-3
will receive an additional Grade Pay of Rs 5,400 and MSP of Rs
6,000, making his or her total emoluments Rs 27,000. As on
September 1, 2008, when the 6th CPC was implemented, a
Lieutenant would get total emoluments of Rs 28, 947," the
officials add. As against this, their civilian counterparts in
the pay scale of Rs 8,000-13,500 under 5th CPC had received a
pay of Rs 14,880.
Another argument put forth is: A Lt Colonel under the 5th CPC
received a Gross Pay of Rs 28,086. But under the 6th CPC, he
would receive a Grade Pay of Rs 7,600 and MSP of Rs 6,000
under Pay Band-3. His pay as on January 1, 2006, would be Rs
41,690. From September 1, 2008, when 6th CPC was implemented,
Lt Colonel’s emoluments stood at Rs 45,000.
With the Finance Ministry virtually rejecting their demands,
the Armed Forces' chiefs rightly have asked that the issues
raised by them should be addressed by the country's political
leadership and not Anomalies Committee. "The CPC created
disparities are not just pay anomalies, but core issues.
Hence, these cannot be left to the Anomalies Committee. But
the Cabinet must consider them and issue a corrigendum to the
CPC notification," Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta, in his
capacity as the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee,
insists.
Clearly, the issues such as "extant parities of pay" to
Lieutenant Colonels and equivalent officers vis-à-vis their
civilian and paramilitary counterparts, is not just related to
the CPC, but could seriously jeopardise "operational" and
"functional" harmony of the defence forces, whenever and
wherever they worked alongside the civilian and paramilitary
forces officers. .
Let us face the facts that the disparity "badly demoralise"
the officers of the Armed Forces and if these persist, it
could lead to "despondency" among the defence cadre. Admiral
Mehta has even met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to press for
the removal of anomalies, explaining that it has serious
implications of the command and control element during Unified
Command Operations if not addressed. Singh is learnt to have
promised that he will personally look into the issues raised.
Let us hope that the Cabinet Committee on Security removes
these disparities so that the soldiers do not get demoralised
and save the nation from a serious catastrophe. A demoralised
force cannot save the sovereignty, security and integrity of
the country. –INFA
(Copyright India News & Feature Alliance)
E-Mail :
newseditor@sarkaritel.com |
