With resentment in the ranks over the pay panel recommendations, the armed forces have drawn up a joint proposal demanding more salaries for soldiers, an increase in allowances and pointing out "major anomalies" in the salary structure.
The joint memorandum, which will shortly be presented to Defence Minister A K Antony, has been drawn up by the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) and emphasises the need for better salaries for soldiers and middle-rung officers.
One of the key contentions is that in the new recommendations, almost all armed forces personnel have been shifted to a lower salary grade compared to civilian officers of comparable service and experience.
To address this, the forces have proposed major changes in the Military Service Pay (MSP) - a new concept introduced in the Sixth Pay Commission to give armed forces an edge over others.
While the panel has fixed Rs 1,000 as MSP for all soldiers and Rs 6,000 for officers, the services have demanded that the special pay should be equated to the basic salary and be decreased progressively with seniority.
For entry-level soldiers, the armed forces have asked an MSP of 60 per cent of the basic pay which would progressively decrease to 40 per cent of basic till the seniormost level. This, officials say, will give entry level personnel incentives as well as cater to the aspirations of mid-level officers.
Another major issue brought out in the proposal is increase in special allowances for soldiers posted in harsh terrain and operationally active areas. In all cases, including allowances for counter-insurgency areas, Siachen postings and high altitude duty, the pay panel has recommended doubling of existing scales.
This has been deemed unfair by the services and they have asked for a rational rather than ‘arithmetic' view on hikes considering tough service conditions.
The services have also demanded that their pay bands should be delinked from the civil services due to different promotion structures and shorter service period. Contending that majority of the personnel never reach the higher pay band in their career, the forces have asked for new pay bands.
The forces want to do away with the concept of a single pay band for personnel below officer's rank and two pay bands for officers and have demanded three pay bands each for officers and soldiers.
The joint proposal also flatly rejects a recommendation by the pay panel for the lateral movement of short service commission officers and Per sonnel Below Officer Rank (PBOR) to paramilitary organisations like CRPF and BSF.
Considering that the recommendations have not solved the officer retention problem of the forces - as many as 14 Colonel-level officers handed in premature retirement applications to Defence Hqs within five days of the report - the services have expressed their keenness on speedy amendments to arrest "demoralisation down the ranks".
