BANGALORE: The implementation of One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme, which was proposed by Parliamentarians has been shot down by bureaucrats repeatedly. The OROP has come up in the Rajya Sabha once again, which was moved by MP Rajeev Chandrashekar. While some are trying to claim victory, ex-servicemen in the state are apprehensive about the fate of the Bill.“We are absolutely apprehensive,” said convener of Karnataka Ex-servicemen Movement Col (Retd) Rajan. On the progress of the OROP, he said that many MPs and standing committees have proposed the same in the past, only to be turned down by bureaucrats. He also expressed fears that other civil government employees would demand similar treatment if the OROP gets approved. Meanwhile, Rajeev Chandrashekar said that the Committee of Petitions is one of the highest in the Constitution and it would be difficult for the government not to oblige their recommendations. The MP told Express, “The ball is now in the government’s court... it is upto them to either respect the views of the parliament or not.” Reacting to earlier incidents of the bill, he said that the committee in its report had “demolished bureaucratic reasoning”.The Petitions Committee of the Rajya Sabha had submitted a report to Parliament recommending the government to immediately implement OROP in defence forces and constitute a commission to determine the pay, allowance and pension of defence personnel.In the report, the Committee, headed by Bhagat Singh Koshyari, said that a financial liability of Rs 1,300 crore is not a big amount to deny the parity in pension. Rajan added that fears of civil government employees demanding the same treatment was unjustified, but clarified that ex-servicemen did not have a problem with their civilian counterparts getting the same treatment.
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