Conceding to the long-pending demand of the Services, the Government has finally extended the ambit of an “exclusive” pension scheme to cover the personnel killed or injured while guarding the 4,000 km long line of Actual Control(lAC) facing China. This “liberalised pension” was earlier only sanctioned to those deployed on the line of Control(lOC) bordering Pakistan and the International Border.
The liberalised pension provides for 100 per cent of the last “reckonable” emoluments in comparison to normal family pension of 30 per cent of the last emoluments, officials said here on Friday. The family pension scheme will come into effect from March 7, adding cases which were settled prior to the issue of the notification will not be “reopened,” as per a Government notification.
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman On December 20 last year had accorded in-principle approval to extend the liberalised family pension to those guarding the lAC. Officials said the army was in favour of implementing the scheme with retrospective effect, at least from June last year.
Officials said this is an exclusive family pension and the armed forces were demanding that those deployed along the border with China be included under it. There are indications that the Army may take up the matter with the defence ministry as it feels implementing the scheme with retrospective effect from middle of last year will benefit a sizeable number of army men.
The scheme stipulates that a soldier getting injured or killed due to natural calamities, fire or while performing operational duties against enemy forces will get family pension. The notification said, ‘liberalised Family Pension’ covers accidental death or injury sustained due to natural calamities such as flood, avalanches, landslides, cyclone, fire and lightening or drowning in river while performing operational duties or movements in action against enemy forces and armed hostilities in operational area. It said an amendment was made to the order dated February 3, 2011, relating to the scheme.
In fact, this demand for exclusive pension for those deployed on the lAC was first raised in 2011and the families of those killed while patrolling the border with China from 2011 till March 6 this year may take legal recourse. The Armed Forces Tribunal had also issued notices to the Government on matter.