Tribune News Service
Dehradun, November 13

Brig KG Behl (retd)———— Maj Gen Lalji D Singh (retd)
Indian armed forces retired personnel in Uttarakhand have decided to intensify their agitation with an aim to build pressure on the Centre Government to amend clauses added to the recently sanctioned one rank one pension (OROP) scheme for them.
The ex-servicemen will hold a meeting of the core committee under the banner of the United Forum of Ex-servicemen, Uttarakhand Chapter, tomorrow to decide whether to return medals to government or not to show resentment against the Government.
Maj Gen Lalji D Singh (retd) said a delegation of the United Front of Ex-Servicemen had already apprised Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar about the voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) clause added by the Centre in the OROP notification. He said ex-servicemen would no longer tolerate pension disparity.
Maj Gen C Nandwani (retd), president of the United Front of Ex-servicemen, Uttarakhand Chapter, told The Tribune that nearly 60,000 personnel retired from the Indian defence forces every year and hence OROP would not financially burden the Union Government.
He said the Union Government should form a committee comprising senior and experienced retired defence personnel to resolve the OROP issue instead of forming a one-man committee headed by a retired judge.
Brig KG Behl (retd), a former president of the Dehradun Ex-Services League, said arrears should be given to retired octogenarian defence personnel in one installment instead of four installments.
He added that pension is earned wages for the services rendered by an individual during his service period.
Brig Behl said it was reasonable and logical that two individuals, who had rendered an equal length of service and had handled the same level of responsibility (rank), should be given equal pension, irrespective of their date of retirement.
Brig RS Rawat (retd), president of the Uttarakhand Ex-services League, said OROP sanctioned by the Union Government had not fulfilled their demands yet.
He opposed the clauses added by the government in OROP.
He said ex-servicemen were agitating for OROP as it was a fight for equity and justice for them as well a question of dignity of ex-servicemen.