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| OROP Notification, More Harm than Good Col Dr Virendra | | |
K Sahi, VrC
The bureaucrats
through the politicians
have played a dangerous game in OROP announcements. It is likely to do more harm than good to the nation at large and to the armed forces in the country. In the long run the impacts may be disastrous.
After substantial dilly-dally, it was declared in a hurry just before the Bihar elections to garner some brownie votes, and then they returned to announced it in a tearing hurry. What has been notified by the Govt, is a bad shot in its foot, for which the nation may have to limp for times to come. The seven anomalies brought out by Maj Gen Satbir Singh are well known and released even by the otherwise gagged media. All remain unresolved in the notification. The spirit of the OROP has been brutally butchered and what we have at hand is a lame One Rank Five pension concept on crutches with conditions to apply. I am deliberately not repeating the arithmetical details that have received enough hype at various platforms and channels. The non application of One Rank One Pension (OROP) to future Pre Mature Retirement (PMR) cases of officers and men may have a long lasting adverse impact on the very fighting machinery that has held the nation together from external and internal threats in the post independence years with astonishing glory, the only exception being of 1962 - when the nation had gone in a similar apathetical mode for the armed forces as adopted now. Like all militaries in the World, the Indian Armed forces also have a structured, steep pyramidal structure, and there are fixed vacancies in each particular rank. Structurally you need lot more soldiers in junior ranks and lesser as they go up the ladder. This is not how the services want it, but this is how the militaries of the world have functionally evolved and that is how they are likely to remain. In our case everyone reaches to the rank of Colonel or a time scale Naik, but for the next rank of a Brigadier, about 80% will not be promoted by 18-20 years of service. As for personnel below officer ranks, this is even steeper. Most of our men are superseded by the age of 35, and then they have either to keep serving in lower ranks under juniors with stagnated salaries, or move out and explore other job avenues, back to villages, till their lands or launch self employment ventures. So by 15 or 16 years of service, an officer or Junior officers or non commissioned officers get to know if they have any future in the services and likely to get next ranks or not. The pensionable service for PBOR is thus fixed at 15 years and for officers at 20 years. This system had an inherent good thing, that the aging ones moved out on being stagnated and make way for new intakes. It kept the water flowing and gushing clean. It helped Forces keeping the profile of our forces young enough for fighting in the ranks where the demands of service needed top most physical combat capability over challenging terrains of jungles, deserts and high altitude mountains. The Govt's recent Announcement on OROP is produced in a huddle, short sighted and undertaken reluctantly by the bureaucrats in a negative spirit and denial mode to keep their own distinct superiority at helm. This will haunt the three Armed forces and Govts, for years to come. This announcement of not applying the OROP to future PMR officers and PBOR will have some far reaching repercussions.
Promotion Deficit
Since men who are superseded for promotions will be denied PMR with OROP, they shall not vacate the posts for others. This will result in promotion avenues slowing down and drop drastically at every stage and ranks for officers and PBOR. Now where does this leave a stagnated person in service? He cannot be promoted and if he opts out of the forces, he would not get OROP benefits. Best option for him will be to stay on and while away time for as long as possible and move out with best pension options. So with all senior ranks packed with numbers - the promotions will keep getting slower. The Babus have no restriction on promotions and their VRS ratio is very low since all reach the top slot.
Frustration
This non promotion to next rank applies in every rank i.e. Naiks, Havildars, Subedars or Colonels, Brigadiers, Major Generals and so on will result in larger stagnations at the bottom of pyramid and proportionate stagnation in senior ranks. Stagnation anywhere is considered bad for the morale and efficiencies of individuals for man management of any organisation. The concept of exodus on PMR after reaching pensionable service has always been good for keeping young fighting forces that faces tough physical challenges. It also provided vacancies for promotions and allowed soldiers to explore their potential outside of Armed Forces. And that is the reason that allowing them to move out on pension (and OROP) was always a win-win situation. This stands skewed now and we are heading towards potentially disgruntled armed forces. The moved out young disciplined lot capable of taking fresh challenges in the country is otherwise also a valuable human resource for the nation to nurture. This will have terrible effect on the fighting units to have at hand the superseded disgruntled men and officers with no service incentives or stakes in sight and the door out closed and to serve under promoted juniors who may also not feel comfortable.
Intake Squeeze
Ours are voluntary defence services. The Govt has failed to fill critical shortage of junior officers since many decades. The single cause is the lost sheen in the service conditions that made it attractive once. The capable youths are aware and have choices. No wonder our best material is not attracted by the defence forces any more as it did once. Even the youth from traditional military families with heredity roots in services are looking out for greener pastures. The downgraded state of armed forces status, the service conditions, the derogatory incidents like the one at Jantar Mantar, the insensitivity of the politicians and bureaucrats has already done enough irreparable damage. Armed forces service is a tough job - physically, mentally and financially - there is sacrifice, beyond comprehension in many ways to include families. The youth of today is quite aware of these difficulties and he has softer options available with better returns. With such grave anomaly created, the apathy of the govt insensitivity, disregard and disrespect, the numbers of volunteers is bound to drop further. Can our country with lasting internal and external military challenges afford such misadventures?
NB : The author is a decorated with war Veteran awarded VIR CHAKRA for exceptional bravery in war in the face of enemy forces. Post retirement he turned to journalism and is Sr Editor of a bi-lingual Monthly Magazine. He also edited a leading English daily for over a decade. He is a known military analyst in printed and electronic media.
He can be reached at [email protected] |
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