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Saturday 12 July 2014

'Rs 1000 crore outlay for OROP insufficient'

CHANDIGARH: The announcement of Rs 1,000 crore in the Union budget for the implementation of much-awaited one-rank one-pension (OROP) policy has come as a rude shock for the defence fraternity in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh, which has termed the amount as "insufficient".

According to veterans, the Union ministry of defence (MoD) had proposed Rs 3,000 crore per year before a 10-member parliamentary panel led by BJP leader and Nainital-Rudrapur MP Bhagat Singh Koshiyari. Even Union finance ministry had recommended Rs 1,300 crore under OROP for 2011-12 financial year and Rs 1,730 crore for 2013-14.

"The allocation of just Rs 1,000 crore for the year by the finance minister is mere eyewash, and not related to OROP. I think the government has been misled by bureaucrats," said Brigadier (retd) K S Kahlon, president of All India Defence Brotherhood (Punjab Chapter). High court advocate Major Navdeep Singh, who has been taking up welfare issues of defence personnel, said that Rs 1,000 crore for one year would not meet the demand of the "accepted' definition of OROP". "I think the very concept of OROP has been misinterpreted by the central government," he said.

Defending the government, war veteran Lt General (retd) P N Hoon, who has been associated with BJP, said Rs 1,000 crore might be insufficient but at least something had been done. "What did the previous governments do so far? Coffers are empty, but with the passage of time the government would increase the amount," he said. There are around 30 lakh ex-servicemen in the country out of which 8 lakh are from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh. Punjab has around 3 lakh former defence personnel.

Source: Times of India

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