Letters to the editor

In the article, Government disservice, it has been stated that the pay ratio of the topmost and the lowest rung officials was 12:1 in 1956.

Salary sums

8226; In the article, Government disservice, it has been stated that the pay ratio of the topmost and the lowest rung officials was 12:1 in 1956. This is incorrect. I was commissioned in the army in 1959. At that time, the basic pay of a soldier was Rs 20 pm and the basic pay of the army chief was Rs 7,000. The ratio works out to 350:1. As a second lieutenant, my basic pay was Rs 350 17.5 times that of the soldier8217;s pay. Today the ratio is almost 10:1 for the top and the bottom levels. You have stated that the new pay scales for officers would be Rs 16000-70000. With 50 per cent merger of DA in the basic pay, and 41 per cent DA, the existing pays at the starting level 8000 plus 4000=12000215;141 percent=16920 is more than what you have written 6000. Surely the scales are not going to be reduced?

The Pay Commission has to face one reality that compared to the non-government jobs, the government servants get peanuts.

8212; Col M.P.P. Kala retd

Dehra Dun

Constitution as key

8226; With reference to the news item, 8216;Coalition era demands new Constitution:Karunanidhi8217; and your editorial, 8216;Coalition karma8217;, a federal form of government can be achieved only by adopting the presidential system, with a statutory limit of two tenures for the president, as in the US model. The presidential form of government, besides providing security of tenure, will also improve the quality of our politico-administrative system. The president and governors in the states will be free to choose the right people for induction into their respective cabinets, purely on the basis of ability, expertise and administrative experience. There would then be no games of musical chairs and reshuffled cabinets every now and then. The American system, devised by the visionaries of the 1779 revolution, who found the British parliamentary system unsuitable for a large country like theirs, with its heterogeneous population. The US constitution has stood test of the time for 226 years and this is the magic behind America emerging the world8217;s sole super-power.

8212; Dalip Singh Ghuman

Chandigarh

Office for whom?

8226; Raghavendra Rao8217;s 8216;With a little help from his ministry, it8217;s full steam ahead for Lalu rally8217;, should be read in tandem with Hemant Kumar8217;s letter entitled, 8216;Worrying verdict8217;. The perception of the common man is that the railways reeks of corruption. With a railway minister like Lalu Yadav, concessions of the kind reported by Express are a given. To facilitate his rally, how many trains will be diverted, delayed and cancelled? Will the Railway Board honestly share the truth with the public, more so with those who will be affected by this move? Is this not abuse of public office? This is where the points raised by Hemant Kumar in his letter comes in. How does one nail our people8217;s representatives for their abuse of office? And why should permission be sought from their employees, ie, the government to do this?

8212; M.K.D. Prasada Rao

Ghaziabad

Rein him in

8226; There is a limit to bad behaviour. The antics of cricketer Sreesanth is the pits. Millions watch cricket on TV and if our cricketers emulate our parliamentarians in atrocious behaviour, it could become a model for our youngsters. It is one thing to be aggressive in sports, quite another to be vulgarly demonstrative. Sreesanth has not realised the difference between controlled aggression and downright abominable behaviour. Ian Chappel, a seasoned veteran, has said that Sree is an accident waiting to happen. It is an immediate necessity for him to be reined in.

8212; A. Prasad Ahmedabad