(UPDATED) Services to officially take up downgradation of status and pay of Lt Col

The services are all set to officially take up the issue of downgradation of the rank of Lt Col by the Anomalies Committee vis-à-vis the civilian counterparts. The Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee is already in the picture and a step towards the right direction was also taken by the Air Chief according to reports. For all those who have been cribbing about inaction by the service top brass to tackle the issue, rest assured that the three Chiefs are doing their best to reduce such anomalies to the barest minimum. It’s a tough job up there and we must realize it.

For the uninitiated on the issue, following may be recalled for the sake of repetition :-

FOURTH PAY COMMISSION

Pre-revised 4th CPC pay scale of Lt Col : Rs 4700 - Rs 5900

Pre-revised 4th CPC pay scale of Non-Functional Selection Grade (NFSG) of the Civil Services : Rs 4100 - Rs 5300 / Rs 4500 - Rs 5700 (Two Grades)

FIFTH PAY COMMISSION

Pre-revised 5th CPC pay scale of Lt Col : Rs 15,100 – Rs 18,700

Pre-revised 5th CPC pay scale of Non-Functional Selection Grade (NFSG) of the Civil Services : Rs 14,300 – Rs 18,300

SIXTH PAY COMMISSION

Post-revised 6th CPC pay scale of Lt Col : Rs 15900 – Rs 39100 (Pay Band – 3 ) with Grade Pay of Rs 7600

Post-revised 6th CPC pay scale of Non-Functional Selection Grade (NFSG) of the Civil Services : Rs 37,400 – Rs 67000 (Pay Band – 4) with a Grade Pay of Rs 8700

And now Ladies & Gentlemen, the clincher :

Pay received by a Lt Col on the bottom of scale as on 01-01-2006 as per 5th CPC rates : Rs 28,000 (Appx)

Pay received by a civil NFSG officer at the bottom of scale as on 01-01-2006 as per 5th CPC rates: Rs 26,500 (Appx)

Basic Pay of a Lt Col as on 01-08-2008 as per 6th CPC rates : Rs 31,500 (Appx)

Basic Pay of a civil NFSG officer as on 01-08-2008 as per 6th CPC rates : Rs 45,000 (Appx)

NFSG officers who were drawing a pay lesser than Lt Colonels are now in Pay Band-4 while Lt Colonels remain in Pay Band – 3. NFSG officers on the civil side include Superintending Engineers (SEs) of the Central Engineering Services, Directors of Govt of India, Commandants in Central Police Organizations, Addl Commissioners of Income Tax, Scientists ‘E’ of Central Scientific Departments etc. The time taken to reach NFSG by a directly recruited Civil Services Group A officer is 13 years and it was to maintain this parity that the time span for promotion to the rank of Lt Col was also reduced to 13 years. A section of civilian officers have pointed out that while a DPC (Departmental Promotion Committee) is held for NFSG and even lower ranks, the same is not done for Lt Colonels and hence NFSG officers need to be provided an edge over Lt Colonels. It may however be pointed out here that every service has a different criterion and system for promotions, while Army officers have to pass promotion exams and have to meet other criteria such as medical requirements, the system followed by the civil services is different. On the other hand, 100% of directly appointed Group A Civil Services officers recruited through the Central Civil Services Examination make it to NFSG unless there is a disciplinary/ vigilance hitch, hence the term ‘Selection Grade’ in that sense is a misnomer. Some officers have asked whether rank pay is to be added into basic pay. The answer lies in Para 2(b) of Special Army Instruction 2/S/98 issued by the Govt of India which says that rank pay is very much a part of basic pay, hence it is to be added into basic for all intents and purposes. Any letter to the contrary issued by any officer in the MoD by self interpretation has no force of law or legal sanctity.

Also read the below from Yahoo.Com

Anomaly in reviewed pay commission: IAF chief

Wed, Aug 27 07:35 PM

New Delhi, Aug 27 (IANS)

The government must take immediate steps to restore the parity in the pay scales of officers of the rank of Lieutenant Colonels and equivalent with their civilian and Coast Guard counterparts who have been awarded more emoluments by the Sixth Pay Commission, says Indian Air Force (IAF) chief Air Chief Marshal Fali H. Major.

Major has made the plea in a letter to Admiral Sureesh Mehta, Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee and the Indian Navy chief, urging him to intervene before the government implements the recommendations made by the pay commission.

"The finance ministry is introducing yet another anomaly by lowering the extant of parities of officers of the armed forces, of the Lt. Col. (and equivalent), by retaining them in pay band-3, while raising similarly placed civilian and paramilitary officers to pay band-4," Major wrote in the letter sent Monday. A copy of the letter was made available to IANS.

"It is reliably learnt that civilian and paramilitary officers in the extant pay scales S-24 (Rs.14,300-400-18,300) and S-25 (Rs.15,100-400-18,300) will be placed in pay band-4, whereas the same is being denied to the armed forces officers (Lt. Col. and equivalent) who were already in S-25," Major said.

The IAF chief has pointed that because of this the civilian officers who were in the lower pay bracket (S-24) and were hitherto drawing lesser pay than Lieutenant Colonels and officers of equivalent ranks would now draw a higher basic salary.

At present, the India Army, the Indian Navy and IAF have 11,187, 3,528 and 4,216 officers, respectively, of the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and equivalent.

"This is not just affecting a Lt. Col. Because of this the pay of Coast Guard's commandant with 23 years of experience will be equivalent to a Rear Admiral with 30 years of experience," a senior army official said.

The cabinet Aug 14 cleared the revised recommendations of the pay commission, granting huge hikes to five million government employees, with special attention paid to military and paramilitary personnel.

According to the government, the revision translates into a 20 percent hike over the 40 percent across-the-board increase the pay commission had recommended.

The government promised at least three promotions for defence personnel and civilian employees under the modified assured career progression (ACP) scheme.

Civilians will be assured of promotions after 10, 20 and 30 years of service. Junior and non-commissioned officers and personnel below officer rank (PBOR) will be eligible for this after 8, 16 and 24 years of work.

The Military Service Pay recommended by the pay commission has been doubled to Rs.2,000 for PBORs and retained at Rs.6,000 for officers up to the rank of brigadiers.

Middle level officers - colonels, brigadiers and equivalent - are now placed in the highest pay band of PB-4. Lieutenant generals overlooked for promotion as army commanders due to lack of residual service will get the grade of an army commander.

The report of the Sixth Pay Commission, headed by Justice (retd) B.N. Srikrishna, was submitted to Finance Minister P. Chidambaram March 24.

It led to protests from both civilian and defence personnel, following which the government appointed a committee under Cabinet Secretary K. Chandrashekhar to study the various demands for financial corrections.

The three service chiefs also made a joint representation to Defence Minister A.K. Antony.