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Journalism of Courage
The three Service Chiefs demanded the intervention of the Cabinet, rather than that of a committee, to consider its demands on the Pay Panel report. Taking up a notch the row over pay bands and disparity of officer ranks with the civil sector, Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee Admiral Sureesh Mehta has written to the Defence Minister that the issue 8220;cannot be left to the Anomalies Committee8221;.
Contending that the disparities in the pay report are not just anomalies but 8220;core issues8221;, the senior officer said the Cabinet should decide and 8220;issue a corrigendum to the Pay Commission notification8221;. Mehta said any disruption in the existing parities of pay would lead to serious operational problems for the Armed Forces whenever they would need to work with paramilitary and civilian officers.
The Navy Chief said officers whose ranks are equivalent to that of Lieutenant Colonel are demoralized with the lowering of parity with civilian officers. 8220;Command and control functions8221; with the BSF and other paramilitary forces would be seriously hampered if the issue is not resolved, he said.
The Armed Forces are livid over the 8220;degradation8221; of officers of the rank of Lt Colonel who have been placed in Pay Band 3, a grade lower than PB 4 that their civilian counterparts have been given. This would also have an effect on the Coast Guard-Navy relations as Coast Guard Commandants, would have an advantage over Navy8217;s Commanders.
They have also demanded that officers of the rank of Lt General should be put in the new pay band of Higher Administrative Grade HAG Plus, in which DG level officers of civil services and paramilitary have been placed.
