Sidestepping the demand by ex-servicemen for a five-member judicial commission with representatives from military fraternity, the government on Monday appointed Justice L. Narasimha Reddy, former Chief Justice of Patna High Court to head the one-man judicial committee, which will look into the implementation of One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme.
The committee is as per the points of the notification issued by the government on November 7 for implementing OROP. A statement issued by the Defence Ministry states that the terms of reference for the committee shall be “to examine and make recommendations on references received from the government…”
These include: measures for the removal of anomalies that may arise in the implementation of the OROP as notified by the government on 07 November 2015, measures for the removal of anomalies that may arise out of inter-services issues of the three forces due to its implementation, implications on service matters and any other matter referred by the Central Government on implementation of the OROP or related issues.
The committee, based in Delhi, will submit its recommendations within six months of the date of its constitution, however, it can give interim reports to the government on matters related to its terms of reference.
The committee was swiftly rejected by the veterans agitating over the issue. “We reject the notification as it is one of the seven anomalies pointed out by us to the government after issue of notification on OROP on November 7 and repeatedly thereafter,” said Col. Anil Kaul (retd), media advisor to United Front of Ex-Servicemen Movement (UFESM).
Col. Kaul said that with this appointment the government has shut the door on their face for mediation in the form of Union Minister V.K. Singh. “The way forward is to approach the Supreme Court, which would be taken procedurally as per the advice of our counsel Ram Jethmalani very shortly. Notwithstanding the legal option the agitation will be intensified across the country,” he added.
“We wanted the commission headed by a retired judge of the Supreme Court and have recommended the name of Justice Lodha but the government appointed a retired High Court Judge. It does not serve the purpose,” said Grp. Capt. V.K. Gandhi (retd), General Secretary of UFESM.
The statement also notes that in making its recommendations “the committee shall take into account the financial impact of its recommendations.”
