Armed forces voice concern over delay in resolving pay issues

With five months having elapsed since they raised four “anomalies” in the pay commission report, the armed forces have voiced their concern over the delay in resolving two issues left unaddressed by the government.

In a fresh letter to Defence Secretary Vijay Singh, the Principal Personnel Officers Committee (PPOC) of the three Services has sought immediate attention of the “high-powered committee” of Secretaries that would now look into the armed forces’ pending issues.

Already, the Prime Minister’s Office has communicated to the Defence Ministry that the government has accepted two of the four demands relating to the restoration of 70 per cent pensionary weightage for jawans and placing the 12,000-odd Lieutenant Colonels in Pay Band-4 of the Sixth Central Pay Commission report.

However, the demands for parity in Grade Pay of officers from Captains to Major Generals and according Higher Administrative Grade Plus pay scales to Lieutenant Generals have been left unresolved by the Pranab Mukherjee-led Ministerial Committee.

PPOC noted in its letter that acceptance of the demand relating to grade pay of officers was important to ensure that this did not come in the way of the “operational command and control structures” in field areas when both the Services officers and their counterparts from the civilian services work together.

“Many a time, officers from both the armed forces and civilian services have to work together in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast. If the grade pay issues are left unresolved it would hinder responsibility and accountability structures,” it said.

Similarly, placing Lt Gens in Higher Administrative Grade Plus pay scales was crucial, as this would mean “lowering of status” of Corps Commanders and Director Generals in the Services headquarters vis-a-vis their police services counterparts such as DGs of Police and Prisons.

“It is not about money at all, it is clearly about status. Once our commanders’ status are lowered, how can our status be better vis-a-vis our civilian services counterparts. The DGPs were equal to Lieutenant Generals in the Fifth Pay Commission. The Secretaries Committee placed the DGPs in a higher pay scale than Lieutenant Generals, creating this  anomaly,” said an officer.

PPOC also listed the logic and the justification for the armed forces urging for a favourable decision on the pending issues, so that these did not go the Fifth Pay Commission “anomalies” way, which remained unresolved till the Sixth Pay Commission.