OROP: NDA considers enhanced pension to widows of war disabled

NEW DELHI: The One Rank One Pension issue may be settled but government is still grappling with a demand to give enhanced family pension to widows of disabled war veterans, a sensitive issue which the Modi Government decided to reconsider earlier this year but the Army and Navy has failed to provide details. In February this year, the pensioner organisations had told the government that this issue is only for the war disabled veterans invalidated out of service "who are very few in number and deserved empathetic consideration." The NDA government hence decided to reconsider the issue, after it was rejected in the UPA tenure, but an Action Taken Report (ATR) furnished before an October 13 meeting with the pensioner organisations reveals that the Army and the Navy have failed to furnish the details so far with regard to the number of widows of the disabled war veterans. This is despite Department of Pensions in Ministry of Personnel, during the last meeting in February, impressing upon Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare (DESW) to take up the matter with Defence Minister Manohar Parikkar, to "hasten the process." The ATR furnished by DESW however shows not much has moved. "The matter has been under reconsideration. Service Headquarters have been requested to furnish information in regard to number of widows of war disabled who are getting ordinary family pension and financial implication in case of enhanced family pension is granted to them," the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare said in an ATR ahead of the October 13 meeting. "Only Air Headquarter has provided the requisite information. Army Headquarters have shown their inability to furnish the data being not available with them," the ATR mentions. It adds that the Naval Headquarters has also not furnished the requisite information so far. "The matter is being taken up with the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (Pensions), Allahabad in order to have the data," the department has said. Last year, under the UPA rule, DESW had informed the Department of Pensions that the matter was considered in consultation with the Department of Expenditure, Office of Controller General of Defence Accounts and Ministry of Defence (Finance Division) and it "has not been found possible to agree to the proposal."