NEW DELHI: The Army is working to bring down the major gap that exists in disability pension granted to a soldier and an officer.
“There is a major difference in the amount of financial support given to a soldier and an officer for the same disability. We have worked out categories to bring this gap down,” a senior officer told this paper. “Every soldier who gets disabled in war/war like situation should be getting the maximum support,” he added.
Post Seventh Central Pay Commission recommendations, the disability pension was fixed on the basis of the last pay drawn. “This brought in a major gap, which happened to be lesser before,” said the officer.
According to the current rule, a soldier getting a salary of Rs 30,000 (approximately), will get a pension of Rs3 0,000 in case of 100 per cent disability while an officer getting a salary of Rs1 lakh (approximately), will get a pension of Rs 30,000 in case of 30 per cent disability.
“Even for a lesser disability, an officer gets a higher pension than what a soldier gets for 100 per cent disability, which has been questioned by many soldiers. We are working to rationalise this portion of the pension,” said the officer.
Also, Army is planning to separate the soldier who gets disabled during war/war like situation from those getting disabled due to the other reasons. “We will be forwarding the recommendations soon,” said the officer.