Adding another note to the controversy over the pay commission for the armed forces, Air Chief Marshal FH Major has shot off a letter protesting an ‘anomaly’ that puts officers of the rank of Lt Col in a pay band that is lower than their civilian counterparts.

The letter, which is bound to create controversy as it comes after the pay scales were finalised by the Cabinet on August 14, was sent to Admiral Sureesh Mehta, the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee on Monday. The letter requested Admiral Mehta to take up the issue with the Defence Minister.

The main contention is that after the revised scales are implemented, officers of the rank of Lt Col in all three services would be put in a lower salary slab than civilians and Para Military officers of equivalent rank.

“The finance ministry, working on the implementation of the sixth pay commission proposals, 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,” the letter says.

Major has said that the new scales being planned by the finance minister would end up disturbing the parity between armed forces and para military forces by putting the three services at a lower level. “Civilian officers who were in a lower pay bracket and were hitherto drawing lesser pay as compared to Lt Col and equivalent of the armed forces, would now draw a higher basic salary in the running pay band,” the letter says.

... contd.