Terming the new policy to be totally in contravention of law and SC judgments, the ex-servicemen organisation have claimed that the new rules place soldiers at a disadvantage when compared to civilian employees

The All India Ex-Servicemen Welfare Association has strongly protested the new policy by Ministry of Defence (MoD) on disability and death benefits of Defence personnel and their widows. (Representational image via Canva)

The All India Ex-Servicemen Welfare Association has strongly protested the new policy made public Wednesday by Ministry of Defence (MoD) on disability and death benefits of Defence personnel and their widows.

Terming the new policy to be totally in contravention of law and SC judgments, the ex-servicemen organisation have claimed that the new rules place soldiers at a disadvantage when compared to civilian employees.

The association has demanded that the letter issued on September 22 be withdrawn immediately. In a statement issued on Wednesday, Bhim Sen Sehgal, chairperson of All India Ex-Servicemen Welfare Association, pointed out that under the new rules, the disability pension/disability element of pension shall now be called ‘Impairment Relief’. “The definition of Invalidation has also been changed in a regressive manner and it has been reiterated that there would be a requirement of ten years of service to earn an Invalid Pension. This requirement was already abrogated for civilian employees in January 2019,” the letter reads.

“The service connection of disabilities has also been altered, belying medical science and common sense. For example, the existing rules and also the CCS (EOP) rules for civilians, provide that all heart diseases are linked with stress and strain of service without any preconditions attached. However, the new rules of the MoD state that heart diseases shall only be considered as linked with service in case the same occur in high altitude areas ,” the association said in the letter.