AG’s ‘Mann ki Baat straight from Dil se’

Indian Military Veterans

The various kinds of dangers are : that which is of external origin and of internal abetment - that which is of internal origin and of external abetment - and that which is of internal origin and of external abetment. Of these four kinds of dangers, internal danger should first be got rid of.  ‘Internal Troubles, ‘like the fear from a lurking snake, are more serious than external troubles.  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Kautilya

‘A Soldier Speaks' was fortunate to attend AG’s absorbing Samvaad/ talk cum interaction with veteransincluding JCOs/ORs at Manekshaw Centre, Delhi Cantt (March 11).It was AG’s ‘Mann ki Baat straight from Dil se.’

At the outset he paid his respects to the sr veterans: “If I was Arjun I would have shot arrows at my predecessor AG’s and other senior veteran Gurus that whatever good or bad he is doing is kind courtesy their good or poor trg!”

The AG spoke on a wide spectrum of issues and also addressed issues of veterans which had been conveyed to him earlier:

Irresponsible Open criticism by senior veteran for happenings in the Army on social media and the adverse impact on impressionable YOs as today's comn is seamless. Bureaucracy enjoys having a last laugh/mocking at us. Social media fwds are reaching in real time from the lowest to the highest.

7 CPC :AG came straight after having briefed the empowered committee where in all the three chiefs were present. The anomalies of the 7 CPC in pay and allowances and status equivalence were flagged with an excellent rationale and perspective highlighting the core issues without any mincing of words and putting across that the 7 CPC in the present form is NOT acceptable. Main issue was just give the armed the same pay scales as the others based in years of service put in and not on rank. Rank is an internal functional requirement and should not be factored while determining or fixing pay scales. Allowances too have been flagged including a soldier and offr drawing zero allce when posted to Shillong and a civilian drawing 54,000/. Need to have pay parity,no reqmt of separate tables,allces as percentage of pay not as slabs, reciprocity of Allces with CPOs. Rks is internal issue, pay should be year based not rk based. ‘Mulling over the idea to reduce rks e.g. remove Brig rk instead have a  junior Maj General and a srMaj   General’. 

"To reduce rks - Do away with 'Lt Col' rk have only Col rk and call selection grade as Comdt,continue with Brig rk by rechristening it as Brig Gen and instead of a  'Maj General & Lt General’ have only a General calling them by designations as GOC/Corps Cdr /Army Cdr'. 

AG reassured that the organisation is fighting to get its dues from the 7 CPC.

OROP: A number of days midni oil burnt to get our OROP Izaat & dues with over a hundred meetings with  H’ble RM / Bureaucrats.

Buck does not stop with the AG or the Chief these days all complaints /grievances are directly addsd to H’ble PM/RM who then seeks replies! All chain of channels of comdhave broken down.

ECHS: No dearth of funds.Facilities being Enhanced/Established :-

·        At BH Delhi Cantt a 200 bed veterans' wing has been established so that quality treatment can be provided to the veterans. Similar Veteran's Hospitals will be established at all Command HQs.

·        Efforts are being made to reduce dependency on empaneled hospitals. A hefty sum of about 300 crores is presently paid to these hospitals.

·        Special wing for Veterans established at Military Dental Centre at RR Hospital.

Directorate of Indian Army Veterans (DIAV)  aims to provide jobs to over 60,000 personnel retiring from the Army each year by better coordination and collaboration with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC).This is AG Branch’s welfare initiative. Signing of a MoU on Skill Development aims at building a better understanding about the National Skilling Initiative and possible opportunities to align prospective military retirees to civilian jobs. DIAV...A great step, all possible Veterans related issues will get addressed at one address, approachable with negligible security frills around, approachable staff, close to CSD , RR,BH. Cafes etc will come up and the road may be renamed as the ‘Veterans Street’. Veteran's Cells will be established at All Command HQs as well. Interactive Veterans web portal is in place.

ESM CSD profits should be used to the optimum with a policy on the subject by stn /fmnHQs towards welfare of ESM.Decisions related to welfare of troops should be taken by Cdrs w/o looking for directions from top. Delhi Area to enhance ECHS/ESM facilities through CSD profits earned through sale to ESM.

EDN: Addl professional colleges are likely to be opened up.

I-CARDS: Issue of plethora of I-Cards are being addressed i.e. to have a single card to be used as a multipurpose I-Card, ECHS Card cum CSD Card.

Thanx to CLAWS for having org the talk - Looking fwd for more such talks.

Next Samvaad Session could be a joint one by ADG Welfare and MDs of ECHS , AGI, CSD,APS !

                                                                                                                Jai Hind                      

 Note: The talk appears to have been very well recd with a thumping applause. Request "Not to be quoted as narrative is mine and in ‘Italics’ my perception/ views'.

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