Might is Right

SHORTFALL/DESCREPANCIES, DISPARITIES AND ANOMALIES IN THE 6THCPC


The hype created by the 6th Pay Commission well before it submitted its final report, which is nothing but a conundrum, has not yet died. It is ironic and unpalatable to accept the fact that for 5.4 million central government employees, the pay commission was constituted but no “real” representative of Armed Forces and Central Para Military Forces which have strength of more than 2 millions, was roped in with the pay commission. Probably this is the first pay commission which has come under such a close media, public and government employees’ scrutiny. Not surprisingly, 6th pay commission report in its original and even in present form has, opened a Pandora box of controversies, some of which are genuine, while other are concocted. Before I Proceed further, I have collected some blogs from internet; their authenticity however cannot be verified. I am reproducing them without editing them. They are an indicator of the under current in the rank and files of CPMFs.

A committee was formed under the Chairmanship of Mr Pranab Mukherjee in Feb, 2008 to consider the demand of the Central para-military forces to treat them at par with the Army, whose personnel were treated differently in matters pertaining to their service and post-retirement benefits.The para-military forces, like BSF,CRPF, CISF, ITBP and SSB which are posted in several states to fight terrorism and insurgency, have sought the grant of special allowances for their personnel to cover the risk factor. The demands are among a host of proposals submitted by the forces, engaged in counter-insurgency operations in the North-East, Jammu and Kashmir and also fighting extreme left groups . The suggestions, aimed at attaining parity with defence personnel included increase in disability pension for those injured, hike in percentage of family pension paid to widows and also to change the pension rules. The BSF and ITBP, it was understood to have sought hardship allowance amounting to 40 per cent of the basic pay to those posted in "extreme hard areas" like Jammu and Kashmir and North-East and 35 and 30 per cent respectively for those deployed in hard and very hard areas. It has said the forces posted in border areas face all sorts of hardships like "isolation, natural hazards, limited facilities and adverse climatic conditions." It has categorised J&K, & North-East as a "very hard area" and the western frontier as "hard". An internal survey conducted by the forces has found that the satisfaction among its personnel posted in border areas with regard to accommodation and working hours was as low as 12.5 per cent. The CRPF also wants 10 per cent of the basic pay as hardship allowance to those personnel deployed in Jammu and Kashmir and the Naxal-infested Chhattisgarh. A hike in compensation package has been sought for those dying in action to Rs 30 lakh from the present Rs 7.5 lakh. Increase has also been sought in pay-scale and provision of a pension scheme. In the backdrop of such proposals and recommendations of 6th CPC, let us see some of the reaction of CPMF personnel in their blogs

COMMENTS
(a)“Yes, BSF,CRPF, ITBPand SSB personnel deserve a substantial hike in their allowances. These people live in difficult conditions and they have little cheer in their life. They live away from their family most of the times. There is no policy of peace posting. They are the real fighters”

(b) “I m a BSF officer serving in j & k along army at the same location. While I have put In 6 years of service, an army officer with one year of service is getting Rs 5000/pm more than me while we both are doing the same duty. Why this disparity?....we should be treated equally. We have lesser facilities than army, we never go to peace locations, always serve in isolation on borders...we don’t have canteen facility or Railway warrant facility like army, no promotion like army, high time we should be treated equal to stop exodus of young officers...”

(c) “I am An ITBP Officer having served for more than 8 years in the Force. There is not an iota of difference in the nature of duties that we perform vis-a-vis army (Infantry). People may say that you can never become the army...because ITBP is a paramilitary force..but little do they realize that the duties that we perform are far more tougher than that of army..24 x 7 x 365...the living conditions, the operational commitments and the risk factor are in no way lesser than those faced by the army. There should be no step brotherly treatment.”

(d) “Being a person, serving in Paramilitary force I have always observed that the Govt. of India has always discriminated CPMF despite our sincere and dedicated service in guarding the border and maintaining law and order of the country. A lot of talks were there regarding MSP for Army but never heard a voice for such allowance for CPMF personnel who are actually dying to preserve the sovereignty and integrity of the country.”

(e) “I m from CRPF and I truly believe what my compatriots are saying. We are fighting daily from Kutch to Kohima and from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. We don’t regret this as it is our duty but the only thing that haunts me is our value vis-avis army. Sometimes we have to prove that we are fighting for the country and not for any other cause”.

4 These were some of the reactions of Officers at field level which are the cutting edge of any force in operational fields. I am one of those who sincerely believe that silently concentrate on your work and one day some one will surely realize the fact that silence is also an indicator of certain requirements.

Govt of India has not addressed the genuine concerns of the CPMFs especially the border guarding forces like BSF,ITBPF and SSB ,wherein they are deployed on the borders ahead of Indian Army at most of the locations like Thar Desert, Bhuj, Eastern Ladakh , Arunachal, Kashmir, Manipur and Uttrakhand in the extreme high altitude, inhospitable and toughest possible terrain and weather conditions. Is it not shameful and ironic that an Army Soldier deployed in Leh Army Garrison gets more pay and allowances than a paramilitary soldier deployed bang on Sino Indian Border on Eastern Ladakh? The cause of CPMFs is most neglected one. They continue to suffer silently. But there is limit of everything. Let the sound of sanity not get drowned in the cacophony of false projection by Armed Forces and tacit approval of government at the cost of hard working, committed, dedicated and silent performers of CPMFs.

On the next page comparison has been carried out in terms of parity between Army and CPMF Officers. The parity is based on the actual role played by them in their respective organizations. It will be clear that the issue of equating similar ranked officers in terms of pay & allowances should have been raised by the CPMF whereas it has been raised by Armed forces in spite of lacking the merit due to dilution in the rank structure. The so called protocol which is being cited by Army in favour of their Lt Col was drafted in 1939 and modified in 1966. Sea changes have taken place since then. Some one need to apprise the Govt that in 1939 a simple Lt was commanding a Company and in 1966, Capt was commanding a company, in 2008 Lt Col is commanding a company. If Army has accepted this dilution in their ranks, the similar dilution has to be there in protocol too. How can a Company commander i.e. Lt Col or Wing Cdr having 120 str under command be compared and equated with Commandant who is senior in rank, service and having 1200 strength under command. Even barring those who are bona-fide Second-in-command of their units, other Lt Col cannot be equated even with substantive Second-in-Commands of CPMFs.

It is really ironic that second-in-command which is an appointment of the work to be assigned to any one in the hierarchy has been accepted as a rank as well by all CPMFs minus CISF, where its nomenclature is Commandant. The bone of contention between Army and CPMFs can be traced to this decision. In CISF, the parallel rank of Second-in-command is Commandant which is equivalent to Lt Col of Army. In rest of the CPMFs this anomaly is not there. Commandant is a parallel and equivalent rank to Col of Army. This dichotomy can be addressed only by changing the rank of Second-in-command to Additional Commandant. The so called comparison must be carried out by laying down some parameters, and not by harping on the oft repeated statement that the fight of Armed Forces is not for money but for status. When I am talking about the comparison with Lt Col, I am talking purely about Infantry and not any other Arms of Army. How and why should this fact be ignored that in CPMFs , Second-in-command is the feeder rank as well appointment for the next promotion to the rank of Commandant. Where as in Army although Lt Col is a feeder rank for the promotion to Col but it is not a feeder appointment in case of all the Lt Cols. What I mean to say is that amongst all the posted or authorised Lt Col in a unit only the senior most will be discharging the duties of Second-in-command appointment and rest will continue to be Company Commanders. Any one can decide on this premise whose role is more critical and important in the chain of command, but again the rightful claim of CPMFs has been ignored. Let us see another chart based on the recommendations of 6th CPC, to be implemented by the Armed Forces.

MULTIFARIOUS ROLES OF A CPMF BN CAN BE SEEN BELOW
Next important and most underlining fact is the role being performed by a CPMF battalion vis-à-vis Infantry battalion. Not that I am trying to undermine the role of an Army unit as they do in case of a CPMF unit but just to find out where we stand the comparison has been carried out.

(a) The Bn of CPMF has the flexibility to discharge duties at LC/LAC/IB.
(b) Perform VVIP security role
(c) Perform internal security role
(d) Perform election duty
(e) Handle law and order duties
(f) Disaster management duties
(g) Security of VAs and VPs
(h) CI (Ops) role
Is any Army unit really so flexible to perform these roles, one after another without bothering the government for added facilities and compensation? What a bluff on the part of Armed Forces to say that they are fighting for the status and not for the money”. But we should not blame them squarely for our miseries. Our simple objection is that they are trying to mislead the Govt by citing wrong precedence to Govt about the so called protocol and status. In the larger schemes of things encompassing national security external as well internal the Armed Forces should have also considered appropriately to associate all CPMFs to put pressure on the Govt collectively. This would have yielded fruitful results. With this unilateral action on the part of Armed Forces the mistrust between them and CPMFs which was not visible hitherto to out side world will be visible. That would be unfortunate to this country. But we must try to find out the genesis of the problem. It lies with the unrealistic recommendations by the 6th pay commission which failed to understand and realize the difficult serving conditions of CPMFs. The projection on the part of CPMFs should have been under one umbrella which also was not the case. Let bygones be bygones, at least we must concentrate on our present. I am particularly encouraged with latest developments which are taking place and I am quoting the same for reference from Economic times of 15th Oct, 2008.

“With the government setting up a three-member ministerial committee headed by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee to consider the armed forces' plea, the CPOs too have decided to seek a political intervention to resolve issues concerning their pay scales. The chiefs of ITBP, BSF, CRPF and SSB will meet Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta to submit a memorandum seeking a political decision on the lines of Mukherjee committee for inclusion of their "second-in-command" rank officers in Pay Band-4, if the tri-services' Lieutenant Colonels and equivalents are included in this pay bracket. The Pay Band-4 for Lt Cols is among the four "core issues" raised by the Army, Navi and Air Force in the 6th Central Pay Commission (CPC) and that led to Services refusing to implement the CPC, a decision taken by the Cabinet in August this year. "The Director Generals (DGs) of all the CPOs and CPMFs will present a memorandum to the Home Secretary this week. We will urge Home Minister Shivraj Patil to request his cabinet colleague, Pranab Mukherjee, to include 'Second-in-Command' ranks also in Pay Band-4," Home Ministry sources told”. It is also evident that some corrective measure are in the offing and the under mentioned report some indicate this fact.


“This request comes with a rider that such a plea from the CPOs and CPMFs be considered, provided armed forces' Lieutenant Colonels and equivalents are included in Pay Band-4," Home Ministry officials said. The CPOs and CPMFs decided to make such a demand at a joint meeting of their DGs held last week, sources added. These organisations also have a problem with the government's proposal to allow lateral entry into CPOs and CPMFs to armed forces' jawans and will "protest" against the proposal made in the CPC. The CPC recommended the government to provide Army jawans -- who retire at an early age to keep fighting force fit for wars -- re-employment opportunities in the CPOs and CPMFs, but they would lose 50 per cent of their pension weight age if they opt for it. The government, however, is yet to approve this recommendation. 12 "The CPOs and CPMFs already have massive stagnation problem in Personnel Below officer Ranks (PBORs). Our constables get promoted only after putting in around 20 years of service, whereas the Army's Sepoy gets three promotions during the same period. "If lateral entry of Army jawans is allowed into CPOs and CPMFs, the long wait for promotion of existing ranks will get longer, and the former would over take the latter in promotions. This situation would be unacceptable for the CPOs and this issue would be raised by the DGs' during their meeting with the Home Secretary," the officials added. The CPOs and CPMFs had earlier given a presentation to the Home Ministry in this regard after the CPC recommendations were made public this March.

MISINFORMATION COMPAIGN
Since the declaration of 6th CPC, a campaign is continuing in print and electronic media stating that CPMFs Officers are paid much more than what they deserve. It is also pointed out that status of Armed Forces Officers’ has been lowered. Status is directly linked with the role played. The warrant of precedence mentioned below and is being quoted by Armed Forces repeatedly, need amendment. During 1939 Lt was commanding a Company, in 1966 Captain were commanding Company and Lt Col were commanding Battalions. In 2008, Lt Col is commanding a company and Col is commanding a unit. In CPMFs, Asstt Comdt performs the duty of a Company Commander. There has been dilution in the rank structure and role performed by a particular rank in Army, similarly there has to be dilution in the warrant of precedence. Just to prove my point kindly see the next chart and draw independent conclusion about the misinformation campaign against CPMFs with wrong data and knowledge. It is really funny that the pay and allowances of Para-military Officers are being compared unnecessarily by Armed Forces without knowing the fact that CPMF officers are drawing gross pay much less than their counterparts in Armed Forces. By creating this controversy Armed Forces have automatically given a platform to CPMFs to project their problem. Infact this is indirect help to CPMFs from Armed Forces.


The fundamental right envisaged in our constitution i.e equal pay for equal work has been completely overlooked by the 6th pay commission. It is evident from the above chart that to get their dues CPMF personnel will have to wait for decades if not centuries. In the same democratic country we will have developed, developing and underdeveloped government departments and servants. The gap between Armed Forces and CPMFs which was meagre hitherto has risen to new heights.

ALLOWANCES (AS PER 5TH CPC)

(a) QUALIFICATION PAY AND GRANT :- Officers of the rank of Lt. Col. and below possessing certain prescribed qualification are entitled to lumpsum Qualification Grant of Rs. 3000/-, 4500/-, 7500/- or 10,000/- based on the qualification held by them
(b) In addition to pay, an officer at present receives the following allowances:-
(i) Compensatory (City) and Dearness Allowances are admissible at the same rates and under the same conditions as applicable to the Civilian Gazetted Officers from time to time.
(ii) A kit maintenance allowance of Rs. 300/- p.m.
(iii) Depending upon rank and area of posting, officer posted to Field Areas will be eligible for compensatory Field Area Allowance at the rate of Rs. 2100/- to Rs. 2600/- p.m. and Compensatory Modified Field Area Allowance at the rate of Rs. 800/- to Rs. 1000/- p.m.
(iv) In addition to the Compensatory Field area allowance, officers posted to areas situated at a height of 9000 ft. to 15000 ft. and areas above 15000 ft. High Altitude / Uncongenial Climate allowance would be admissible at the rate of Rs. 530/- to Rs. 1060/- and Rs. 800/- of Rs. 1600/- p.m. respectively.
(v) Siachen Allowance at the rate of Rs. 7000/- per month will be admissible in addition to Compensatory Field Area Allowance to officers of all ranks. This allowance is, however not admissible in conjunction with High Altitude/uncongenial climate allowance.
(vi) Outfit allowance :- Initial Outfit allowance is Rs. 6000/-. Renewal outfit allowance Rs. 6000/- after seven years of effective service.
(vii) Free ration is provided to all officers up to Brig
(viii) Transport Allowance : Transport allowance @ Rs. 800/- p.m. even for the officers serving in field areas.

EXTENDED FACILITIES:-
15 (a) CSD.
(b) Absolute medical cover to personnel/families.
(c) Form ‘D’ as additional concession vouchers for Train journeys.
(d) Reserved bogies in almost all trains.
(e) Free ration for officers also.
(f) Better training academies/Infrastructure.
(g) Planned Re-habilitation of personnel.
(h) Management and other courses at premier institutions like IIMs for officers
(j) SF Accommodation.
(k) Fully furnished house.
(l) Planned rotation from hard area posting to soft area.
(m) Reservation in govt jobs for retired / released personnel.

SALIENT FEATURES OF PAY FIXATION IRO ARMED FORCES:-
(a) Pay fixation has been done on the basis of existing scale. Thus, pay of a Lt. col. will be fixed on the base effect of Rs.15,100/- ( Basic Pay + Rank Pay) whereas a similar ranked officer’s(2IC) pay will be fixed on the base effect of Rs.12,000/- .
(b)This inequality will prevail in the fixation of pay of all similar ranking personnel.
(c)Military service pay itself makes a difference of Rs. 6000/- to the base effect riding on the existing disparity in the pay scale (5th pay commission) of equal ranking officers which makes an approx. difference of around Rs. 10 to 12 thousands.
(d)A Colonel is commanding a battalion with 4 Coys only in the same capacity as that of a CPMF Commandant, who has 7-8 Coys under command and Lt. Col. is second-in-command. So, the question of equating Lt. col., or even Col and CPMFs Commandant is completely out of question.
(e)The issue of equating similar ranked officers in terms of pay & allowances should have been raised by the CPMF whereas it has been raised by Armed forces in spite of lacking the merit.
(f)Officers in the other central/civil services will reach the next pay band on account of being the cadre services whereas middle rung CPMF officers faces an acute stagnation prospects on account of various reasons and have been devoid of a decent pay hike in spite of putting in a reasonable period of service.

RECOMMENDATIONS
Notwithstanding the fact whether Lt Col is placed in Pay Band No 4 or not we should forcefully approach the Government for the followings
(a) Keeping in view the role and length of service of second-in-commands of ITBP, they may be placed in PB-4
(b) The name second-in-command is an appointment, section cdr onwards, hence this name be replaced by Additional Commandant.
(c) Para-military pay (PMP) be made admissible to all personnel of ITBP
(d) High altitude allowance to all personnel deployed above 6000’
(e) Assured career progression at par with Armed Forces
(f) Organization pay to all ranks below Asstt Comdt
(g) Security aide is an important component at all the locations. Officers have to concentrate on important aspects other than personal affairs. The Officers Job in CPMFs is not 8 hours job, rather 24 hour job. He needs dedicated support of Secuirty Aid at all the times to perform his duties.
(h) No lateral entry to Armed Forces into Para-military forces
(i) Parity in status according to same rank and role
(j) Free ration facility at all the locations
(k) Other allowances as admissible to Armed Forces deployed or co-located in the area