A decision to levy tax on the disability pension for defence personnel was backed by the armed forces headquarters, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed the Lok Sabha.

“Ministry of defence or the ministry of finance have not taken a call on their own. It was on the recommendations of the armed forces headquarters. It is not a decision taken without consulting the armed forces,” Sitharaman said while replying on the finance bill discussion in Lok Sabha on Thursday.

Sitharaman’s remarks came days after her cabinet colleague and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh gave an assurance that the government was rethinking its notification about doing away with tax benefits to veterans.

On June 8, Singh told the Rajya Sabha that “No soldier with a disability will be inconvenienced”. “A clarification has been sought from the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and the issue is being re-examined by the ministry,” Singh said, while answering a question raised in the Upper House.

On Thursday, Nirmala Sitharaman gave clarification on the issue while maintaining that it was not part of the finance bill.

In a notification dated June 24, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), under the union finance ministry, said it decided to tax the disability pension. It created a furor in the military fraternity.

According to the CBDT order, “such tax exemption will be available only to armed forces personnel who have been “invalidated” from service on account of bodily disability attributable to or aggravated by such service and not to personnel who have been retired on superannuation or otherwise.” It means, if an officer or a jawan leaves the force due to his disability, his pension benefits will not be taxed. And the order applies only to those who continue to serve with disability.

After the issue was raised in the Parliament by Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary of Congress, Rajnath Singh, who has a ‘pro-soldier’ image, had responded by saying he will look into the matter as interest of the soldiers is one of the top priorities of the government.

But before Rajnath Singh could do something, his predecessor Sitharaman fired a salvo and defended her ministry’s decision by placing the onus for the initiative on the armed forces itself. She put out an internal unsigned note on Twitter, which stated the “Response of the Armed Forces on the issue of taxability of disability pension states that the disability pension attributable to service conditions was being exploited.”

“This aspect is being exploited by those unscrupulous personnel, who have gained from disability benefits provided by the government to disabled soldiers,” the note said.

And to make the matter worse, Army headquarters officially came out to back the decision to tax disability benefits. In a series of tweets, the Army criticised “personnel seeking disability, even for lifestyle diseases” for tax-exemption purposes and said it highlighted a worrying trend in the face of “security challenges to the nation”.

“Over the years, broad-banding and compensation awarded for disability with income tax exemption have led to a rise in personnel seeking disability, even for lifestyle diseases. The trend is worrisome and that too when the security challenges to the nation are on the rise,” the Army’s additional director general of public information (ADGPI) said in a tweet.

Incidentally, the Army commemorated 2018 as the ‘Year of the Disabled in the Line of Duty’, which include both war disabled and other disabled personnel.

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AL-QAIDA chief Ayman al-Zawahiri’s exhortation to the militants in Kashmir to launch ‘jihad for the sake of Allah’ can’t be casually dismissed by the security apparatus. The extremist religious overtone aims to upgrade the cult of death and destruction in the trademark of the global terror network. Making light of it can prove hazardous, given the backdrop and timing of the terror unit’s sharper focus on Kashmir. Radicalised sections of the youth in Kashmir are being offered a tag-end justification for their acts of self-destruction to destroy others. With more than 120 militants killed this year so far — 93 of them post the February 14 Pulwama attack —terror ranks are looking to surface with a banner. The terms ‘jihad’ and ‘Sharia’ (Islamic principles) resonate with a sizeable section of the youth. Zawahiri has sought to give traction to their thinking by inciting them against the Indian Army and economic interests.

The footprints of radicalisation have been visible for quite some time — in IS banners, and the emergence of Zakir Musa as the face of the Al-Qaida affiliate, Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, who was killed in an encounter in May this year. What the Al-Qaida has done now is to reinforce its ideology that holds an appeal for Islamic radicals in the Valley. The Hurriyat Conference — the main voice of the separatists — has denied its presence, using it as an argument to claim that it was India’s ‘design’ to defame their movement for the ‘right to self-determination’ as an extension of the terror network to justify its ‘repression in the Valley’.

The cat, however, sprang out of the bag when the Hurriyat condemned the killing of Zakir Musa and hailed him as a ‘hero’. More curious is the attitude of the Government of India that has said this threat need not be taken seriously, for such threats have been heard before. Zawahiri has spoken for the first time, and his words cannot be taken lightly, for he represents a real threat as he was the mastermind of the horrendous 9/11 terror attack. Ignoring this threat could prove costly.

Our Correspondent

Jammu, July 10

In remembrance of the Kargil bravehearts, a mountain cycle expedition undertaken by the Snow Leopard Brigade was flagged in by Lt Gen YK Joshi, General Officer Commanding, Fire and Fury Corps, on Wednesday.

As many as 12 cyclists were flagged off from Leh on Saturday. They covered more than 400 km across Khardung La, the world’s highest motorable pass. The team interacted with locals and tourists en route. The theme of the expedition was ‘Kargil Vijay Diwas-2019: Remember, Rejoice, Renew’. The team scaled Khardung La to remember the Kargil heroes, rejoice the victory and renew the pledge to keep the borders free from any ingress. 

The team overcame all physical and mental challenges en route as a tribute to the Kargil heroes who overcame inhospitable terrain and climate to write the epic conquest.

Air Marshal reviews ops preparedness

Jammu: Raghunath Nambiar, Air Officer Commander-in-Chief, Western Air Command, visited Air Force Station, Jammu, to review the operational preparedness. On his arrival, the Air Marshal interacted with senior officers and COs of the lodger units and was briefed about the various aspects of the station. The AOC-in-C then took to the skies for an aerial review of forward bases and deployment. The AOC-in-C also appreciated the preparedness, high security setup and the high morale of the personnel of Air Force Station, Jammu. TNS

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Our Correspondent

Jalandhar, July 24

As a part of the week-long programme started by the BSF, Jalandhar Frontier, a five-km race, ‘Run for Martyrs’, was organised at the BSF headquarters here this morning to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the ‘Kargil Vijay Diwas’ and to pay tributes to martyrs of the Kargil War.

Mahipal Yadav, Inspector-General, BSF, Punjab, flagged off the race by waiving the green flag.

The run commenced from Ashwani Stadium via BSF Gate No 3 and reached the Army Mill Road, (main road Jalandhar to Ludhiana) and concluded at the Ashwani Stadium.

As many as 350 BSF personnel’s and soldiers of the Indian Army participated in the run. The winners were awarded by Mahipal Yadav.

Arakshak Babu Lal (BSF, Punjab) won the first positions and was given Rs 3,100. Arakshak Rajmal (BSF, Punjab ) remaind second. Sepoy Suman Sen (Indian Army, core camp) bagged the third position

The blast site near Powari on Tuesday. Tribune photo.
ldeep Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, July 23

The Kinnaur administration has directed the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) to stop the use of explosives for blasting operations to widen the Powari-Pooh section of National Highway-05.
Officials said in view of the ongoing crop season of peas and off-season vegetables in the tribal belt, smooth transportation was a must. This would also minimise damage to the fragile hills.

Following a massive landslide on Sunday evening, the highway was blocked at Bhawanagar for 30 hours. It was restored to vehicular movement at 11.30 pm last night.
The BRO has been widening the stretches between Powari and Pooh and between Kaurik and Pooh to fast-track the movement of Army men and locals on the highway leading to the strategic Indo-China border in Kinnaur and Spiti subdivision. According to GREF personnel, more than 30 per cent of the highway was yet to be widened.

However, following protests by tribals from Kinnaur, the administration has directed the BRO not to use heavy explosives from today. “The use of heavy explosives has wreaked havoc in the fragile mountains, leading to frequents road blockades due to falling boulders,” said Chandergopal Negi of Ribba village.

Local residents said unscientific blasting of hills was the main cause of frequent landslides. “This is not only causing jams for hours everyday, but we also face threat to our lives from falling boulders,” they said.

The blasting operations are causing road blockades mainly between Powari and Pooh, where the BRO is undertaking the widening work.

SP, Kinnaur, SR Rana said: “We had a meeting with the BRO (GREF), Powari, and contractors. It has been decided to stop the use of explosives and come out with an alternative to this in 10 days.”

DK Raghav, GREF in-charge at the Powari section of the BRO, said they had directed the contractors not to use explosives for the widening work. “We will find an alternate way so that the damage could be minimised. The contractor will work during the fixed hours so that the locals do not face any inconvenience”, he said.

New Delhi: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has come up with yet another job notification inviting applications for the post of Assistant Employment Officer in the Directorate General of Employment, Ministry of Labour and Employment. Interested and eligible candidates are advised to apply for the position on or before August 1, 2019.

The Group-B post is permanent while Pay Scale will be in Level-6 in the Pay matrix as per the 7th CPC.

Age Limit: 30 years.

Education Qualification: (A) Master’s Degree in Commerce or Social Welfare or Social Work or Economics or Statistics or Psychology or Education of a recognized university or equivalent.

Experience: (i) Two Years Experience of socio-economic investigation or research preferably in relation to demography employment and unemployment or manpower problems. (ii) Knowledge of employment service work.

NOTE: Qualifications are relaxable at the discretion of the Union Public Service Commission in case of candidates otherwise well qualified. NOTE: The qualification regarding experience is relaxable at the discretion of the Union Public Service Commission in the case of candidates belonging to the Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes if at any stage of selection, the Union Public Service Commission is of the opinion that sufficient number of candidates from these communities possessing the requisite experience are not likely to be available to fill up the vacancies reserved for them.