DISABILITY PENSION
A copy of GOI letter with respect to broad banding of disability element in respect of Armed Forces personnel is placed below:
F.No.3(11)2010-D[Pen/Legal)-PtV
Ministry of Defence
Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare
D (Pension/ Legal)
New Delhi, 18th April, 2016
To
Chief of the Army Staff
Chief of the Naval Staff
Chief of the Air Staff
Subject: – Broad Banding of Disability Element in respect of Armed Forces personnel retired/discharged on completion of terms of engagement with disability aggravated by or attributable to Military Service – implementation of Court/AFTs orders.
The Hon’ble Supreme Court vide order dated 10.12.2014 dismissed more than 800 Civil Appeals tagged with Civil Appeal No. 418 of 2012 filed by the Union of lndia Vs Ram Avtar challenging grant of broad banding of disability element by AFl’s to Armed Force Personnel other than “invalided out” from service. The Hon’ble Supreme Court ruled that an Armed Force Personnel retired on completion of tenure with disability aggravated by or attributable to Military Service is eligible for broad banding of Disability Pension/Element.
The matter of implementing Hon‘ble Apex Court judgment dated 10.12.014 in case of Civil Appeal No. 418 of 2012 was taken up with Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance for consideration. Department of Expenditure. Ministry of Finance has agreed to implement orders of the.Courts on the matter of broad banding of disability element in the case of personnel who are retained in service till normal retirement Accordingly, approval of Competent Authority is hereby conveyed for implementation of Court/AFB orders granting broad banding of disability element toan Armed Force Personnel retired or discharged on completion of terms of engagement with disability aggravated by or attributable to Military Service from the date mentioned in respective court orders.
This issues with concurrence of MoD (Fin/Pen) vide no No 711/Fin/ Per dated 12.04.2016.
(R.R. Verma)
Under Secretary to the Govt. of India
Consequent to the issue of the above letter, the CDA (Pensions) has issued a letter to all Records (PAO) (ORs) regarding broad banding of disability element i.r.o. Armed Forces Personnel. In view of the above, all affected cases covered under above order may be reviewed and claims may be forwarded to respective Pension Sanctioning Authorities alongwith Sheet Roll and other connected documents. This circular has been uploaded on this office website www.pcdapension.nic.in. for dissemination of all concerned.
30th MEETING OF KENDRIYA SAINIK BOARD
The Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar has stressed on the need for the administrative machinery at the Centre, State and District levels to pay due attention towards solving the problems of veterans and families of serving soldiers in a time bound manner. Inaugurating the 30th Meeting of Kendriya Sainik Board, Shri Parrikar said special attention by the Centre and State Governments and support by local administration towards welfare of the families of Ex- Servicemen and Serving soldiers is crucial. “We want our troops to maintain high morale and perform their duties without worrying about their families”, he said. Sharing his first-hand experience with the audience in some forward areas, the Minister stated that braving extreme weather conditions, the Armed Forces have been serving the nation with dedication and commitment.
Underlining some of the welfare measures for Ex-Servicemen and their dependents, the Minister announced that the Government has revised the marriage grant for two daughters of Ex-Serviceman from Rs. 16,000 to Rs. 50,000 with effect from April 01, 2016. The Education Grant and Orphan Grant have been revised from Rs. 400-600 per month to Rs. 1000 per month. The amount of one-time Penury Grant of Rs. 30,000 has now been revised to Rs. 1000 per month for life. He said that the amount under Prime Minister Scholarship Scheme for boys has been hiked from Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 24,000 per annum while for girls the same has been revised from Rs. 18,000 to Rs. 27,000 per annum.He also pointed out few issues on Ex-Servicemen welfare, which require direct engagement with other stakeholders like States and Union Territories, Local Administration and Rajya Sainik Board.These include provision of land for polyclinic buildings in non-military stations, augmentation of opportunities for employment of ESM in State / Union Territories, monitoring implementation of reserved seats in government educational institutions for admission of wards of war widows/disabled soldiers and ESM and construction of integrated ‘Sainik Sadan’ in States for war-widows and ESM and their dependents.
