14 Major Generals to be promoted as deadlock ends

14 Major Generals to be promoted as deadlock ends
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

NEW DELHI, JUNE 7: The deadlock between the Army headquarters and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) over promotions was resolved today with the release of a list of 14 Major Generals who will be promoted to the next higher rank of a Lieutenant General. The Army now has to post the officers first to the two Corps, Siliguri and Leh, which are at present headless.

The Army and the MoD had ``differences of opinion'' regarding promotion of officers to the rank of Lieutenant Generals. Sources say that Major General Arjun Ray is likely to be posted as the new Commander of the 14 Corps after promotion.

``The past is past. More important is appointment of the right officers to the right place now. Finally Lt Gen Krishan Pal can move from Srinagar (15 Corps) and take over his new charge. The Army will very soon announce the appointments of the newly promoted Lieutenant Generals,'' an official said.

The 14 officers approved for empanelment are: Major Generals O S Lohchab, R M Chaddha, T S (Mao) Shergill, Mahesh Vij, Arjun Ray, J R Mukherjee, Kapil Vij, V K Kapoor, A Chaki, J S Varma, J J Singh, J B S Yadav, Hari Prasad and S B Satpute.

The promotion chain which had come to a grinding halt after the Government announced a two-year extension for all officers has now ended and from June onwards it will start moving all over again. ``May 31 officers began retiring and now new officers will be promoted and appointed,'' he added.

A ministry spokesman explained the ``difference of opinion'' only as a ``misunderstanding''. An official said: ``The MoD only put some clarification in some recommendations which is in order. The MoD only wanted to sort out the matter as is their secretarial task. This is what offended the Army. There was only a difference in perception. Now it is all sorted out,'' he added.