Armed forces to get revised pay from September

The chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC) Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha has written to the IAF, Army and Navy headquarters to implement the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission.

“The Air Chief, by virtue of his chairmanship of the CoSC, has communicated to the three forces that they should execute the 7th Pay Commission recommendations. This will enable the personnel of the forces to get their new pay along with arrears from their September salary onwards,” an MoD source told this newspaper.

Defence minister Manoh-ar Parrikar has already given his assurance in his meeting with the chiefs that the genuine grievances of the three services would be taken up at the highest levels, indicating that the PMO would be kept apprised and involved.

The CoSC had earlier requested the government to hold “in abeyance” the pay panel recommendations till the sticking points and anomalies had been resolved. That unanimous decision of the CoSC was also conveyed to their respective formations on September 9.

The main grouse of the forces was that the salary increment being recommended for the three armed forces by the commission was “inadequate” and did not compare favourably wi-th what was being given to bureaucrats and the police.

However, the government is learnt to have taken a dim view of the “signal” of the CoSC to the troops and had conveyed its concern to the chiefs through the appropriate channels and “expressed the hope that good sense prevailed”.

“The pay panel’s recommendations had been drawn after a lot of consultations and deliberations with all stakeholders at all levels,” the source added.