TA now withdraws Oct letter ordering manpower cut in its eco battalions
The DGTA in a new letter addressed to all TA Group Headquarters in the country has said that letter dated October 13 now stands cancelled. The DGTA has also stated that fresh instructions regarding extension/retention in service of personnel serving in ETF battalions will be issued later.
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The fresh letter has been submitted with the Chandigarh bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT), where 58 TA personnel belonging to 133 Infantry Battalion (TA) Eco Dogra, located in Kufri, Himachal Pradesh, have filed an application against the alleged arbitrary policy/discharge order issued by DGTA on October 13. (Representational image/File) The Directorate General of Territorial Army (DGTA) has withdrawn a letter through which it had ordered that all such Ecological Task Force (ETF) personnel, who had completed four years of embodied service, were to be discharged.
The DGTA in a new letter addressed to all TA Group Headquarters in the country has said that letter dated October 13 now stands cancelled. The DGTA has also stated that fresh instructions regarding extension/retention in service of personnel serving in ETF battalions will be issued later.
The fresh letter has been submitted with the Chandigarh bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT), where 58 TA personnel belonging to 133 Infantry Battalion (TA) Eco Dogra, located in Kufri, Himachal Pradesh, have filed an application against the alleged arbitrary policy/discharge order issued by DGTA on October 13.
The DGTA had issued the letter to all 10 ETF battalions asking them to hold Board of Officers (BOO) to weed out personnel who had been serving in excess of four years. The letter cited violation of rules wherein ETF personnel have been retained in service for longer periods leading to possible medical and financial liabilities to the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
The ETF units were raised with aim to carry out plantation and ecological restoration as part of nation building and employed ex-servicemen. The funding for these task forces were provided by central government ministries or state governments depending upon the task allotted to the battalions.
The DGTA letter stated that as per guidelines of ETF battalions, no pension/ gratuity is authorised to ETF personnel and they are to be enrolled for a period of two years and thereafter considered for extension of service by one year at a time based on performance evaluation. This arrangement is sought to be done to discharge all personnel without pension and gratuity, in order to keep operating costs low.
“However, analysis of data with respect to age/service profile of enrolled individuals received through reports and return from ETFs reveals serious lapses wherein individuals have been continuously embodied for larger length of service. Resultantly, individuals are/will become pensionable and/or get lifelong medical disorders which would in both cases be an additional financial liability on MoD,” the DGTA letter stated.
The letter further pointed out that this is in contravention to spirit of the guidelines, that does not provide for pension and gratuity to ETF personnel at all. The DGTA, thus, ordered all ETF battalions to streamline this “multiple heath, employment and financial defaults”, and immediately undertake BOO for current year to ensure younger profile of units.
“Further, it is directed that extension of service beyond four years of ETF personnel enrolled in these units (if any) will be on exceptional specific capabilities which would need to be elaborated upon by Company Commanders and Commanding Officers during conduct of BOO,” the letter said.
It added that no ETF personnel over four years embodied service is retained by the BOO and all such personnel are to be discharged from service on approval of board proceedings.
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