From: prabhjot singh prabhjot_singh0@yahoo.com
Subject: Press Release
To: kamboj_cs@yahoo.co.in
Date: Friday, 15 May, 2009, 1:14 PM
Alarming stress level among the soldiers is root cause
of frustration in their Pre and Post Retirement life.
Press Note
Patiala – 15 May- Indian Ex-Services League, Punjab & Chandigarh, a non-political body of ex-servicemen, has added a supplement to its memorandum dated 12-05-2009, submitted to Secretary (Ex-Servicemen Affair), S.M. Acharya to stress upon the Centre Govt. to take cognizance of the stress level among the defence forces which has resulted in to an alarming stage of suicides and fratricidal killings among the personnel below officer rank (PBORs).
Parliamentary panel appointed by the Central Govt. has already apprised the Govt. in its report on 'Stress Management in the Armed Forces' tabled in the Lok Sabha in the recent past, about this fact giving a figure of 635 suicides & attempted suicides and 67 fratricidal killings in the past five years. League finds that the root cause behind this trend is lack of promotion among the PBORs.
Govt. has earlier taken step to assure career progression among the lower and middle rung officers by adopting the suggestive measures of reduction of age profile of these officers, recommended by the Ajay Vikram Singh Committee and made provision of promotion up to Colonel Rank with in 15 years of service.
League has suggested the committee headed by S.M. Acharya to recommend assured promotion among the PBORs up to JCO level in a period of 15 years of service as in the case of officers. At present, most of the PBORs retire in the rank of Hav. without being promoted as JCOs before the age of 40. This is certainly going to overcome the stress level among the PBORs during pre and post retirement period.
The league has made an other point to be considered by the committee to overcome the mounting unrest among the ex-servicemen. The additional conditions imposed by the Ministry of Defence on the post retirement canteen benefits granted to PBORs. As per the present policy in this respect, a short service commission officer, with 5 to 7 years of service and no pension, can purchase a car of any capacity, after a gap of every two years, from CSD canteen where as PBORs who have been doled out this facility recently, can purchase the car only up to 1300CC after a gap of 7 years if they have served for 15 years and draw service pension. Such discriminatory conditions imposed, without any justification, make the things worse and cause grave frustration among the lower ranking soldiers who are in fact the backbone of the defence forces.
The league is planning to conduct a seminar to elicit the learned views of think -tank of defence forces very soon on this aspect in which persons from civil, qualified in various fields of social sciences, will also be invited.
Sgt. Prabhjot Singh Chhatwal PLS Retd.
President.
Indian Ex-Services League, Punjab & Chandigarh .
Mob. 98554-09128.
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