Finally, Centre rolls out OROP

The four-decade old wait for one rank one pension (OROP) ended on Saturday with the Centre rolling out the scheme which will cost the exchequer between Rs 8,000 crore to Rs 10,000 crore.

The decision was conveyed by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar at a hurriedly called press conference so that the rollout does not clash with the declaration of dates for the upcoming Bihar Assembly polls.

The agitating ex-servicemen, whose hunger strike entered the 84th day, are still not happy with the decision on period of revision and the fact that a one-member judicial committee will oversee the implementation of the scheme.

Parrikar said that the scheme will be effective from July 1, 2014. The base year for pension calculation would be 2013 and pension will be revised every five years.

The arrears would be paid in four biannual instalments over the next two years, whereas all widows, including war widows, would be paid their dues in one go.

The pension will be refixed for all military pensioners retiring in the same rank and with the same length of service as the average of minimum and maximum pension in 2013. Those drawing pension above the average would be protected, he said.

Within minutes of Parrikar's announcement, the veterans said they are not fully satisfied with the government offer and the agitation would continue till the government clarifies some of the thorny issues.

One of the issues, which was later sorted out, dealt with those opting for voluntary retirement being kept out of OROP. The matter was resolved after the government issued a clarification.

The minister also said pension of those who are forced to take premature retirement because of injuries received in military operations and battlefield would be protected.

To implement the scheme, the estimated cost to the exchequer would be about Rs 8,000 crore-Rs 10,000 crore at present and will only increase in future. The expenditure on arrears would be around Rs 10,000 crore to Rs 12,000 crore.

“The OROP issue was pending for nearly four decades and various governments remained ambivalent on the issue. Our government has accepted OROP in its true spirit without being constrained by past inaccurate estimates,” said Parrikar.

“This is the maximum we can offer. We will request the ex-servicemen to accept this,” said Rao Inderjit Singh, the minister of state for defence. The scheme was finalised after several rounds of consultation within the government as well as with the veterans’ representatives.