The ex-servicemen of State are closely monitoring the Central Government’s initiative on One-Rank-One-Pension (OROP) scheme. Many of them are planning to participate in the protest meeting called by Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement on June 14 at Jantar Mantar in National capital.
According to a rough estimate there are 1.5 lakh ex- servicemen in Uttarakhand and they along with their families are hoping that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would fulfil his commitment on OROP.
Different ex-servicemen groups of Uttarakhand are meeting in State Capital on Friday and would give final touches to their plans to participate in the protest at Jantar Mantar.
The OROP implies uniform pension to personnel retiring on the same rank with the same length of service notwithstanding their date of retirement. The defence experts are of the opinion that the Union Government needs at least Rs 9,000 crore to implement OROP.
The president Emeritus of Dehradun Ex-services league, Brigadier KG Behl (Rtd) said long delay and dilly dallying on OROP had created an impression among ex-servicemen that the Government was not interested in extending the benefit of OROP. “Every time the file of OROP goes to the Ministry of Finance through the Ministry of Defence, instead of approving and submitting it to the PM for final approval, it is returned back to the Defence Ministry or kept hanging with some such suggestions which they know the ex-servicemen will not accept and will further agitate them,” he said.
The Colonel Pl Parashar (rtd) said lakhs of retired servicemen were disappointed as they were hoping that the NDA Government would extend the benefit of OROP on the completion of one year of Government on May 26.
A retired Havildar, Surendra Singh Rawat of Pauri Garhwal district said the ex-servicemen still hoped that Prime Minister Modi would keep his promise on OROP. “I retired at the age of 40 years and had I been working in other Government department I would have worked till 60 years of age enjoying much higher salaries and pensions than what I get now,” he moaned. The OROP was necessary for removing this disparity which is substantial, he added.