Retired paramilitary personnels body demands restoration of Old Pension Scheme, other benefits

Confederation of ex-paramilitary forces martyrs welfare association (CoEPFMWA) has demanded the Centre to bring back the Old Pension Scheme for paramilitary personnel. This comes after a Delhi High Court judgement back in January, 2023 favoured the para forces and ruled that all members would be entitled to avail of the OPS, writes ETV Bharat's Gautam Debroy.

New Delhi: As India on Tuesday observed the fourth year since the deadly Pulwama attack which resulted in the death of 40 CRPF jawans, hundreds of ex-paramilitary personnel and their family members came to the streets of the capital, demanding restoration of the old pension scheme for all central paramilitary force personnel.

Retired paramilitary personnel from BSF, CRPF, ITBP, CISF, SSB and Assam Rifles gathered in Delhi's Jantar Mantar, demanding one rank one pension for para forces. "I retired in 2000. When Atal Behari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister, he might have had the perception that we are the police force and not the armed forces. But we are the armed forces of the Union. We are in the same line as that of the Army, Navy, and Air force," said Captain HS Kothiyal, IGP (retd), BSF.

Kothiyal, who also served in the Indian army for a few years, believes that the Central Government would implement the Delhi High court order of January 2023 for implementing old pension scheme. The old pension scheme provides 50 percent of the last drawn salary as the pension. However, through a notification issued on December 2003, the Home Ministry brought all the paramilitary force personnel under the new pension scheme.

The new pension scheme, implemented on January 1, 2004, allows government employees to decide whether they want to invest their money by contributing regularly to a pension account throughout their career. Notably, the Centre exempted the Defence personnel (Army, Navy and Air Force) from the NPS, unlike the paramilitary forces. This was later changed as the Delhi High Court, in a significant judgement on January 11, 2023, ruled that all members of the paramilitary forces will be entitled to avail the Old Pension Scheme, similar to the three Defence wings.

"When army personnel are martyred, they get several benefits. But we are deprived of such benefits. We protected the Parliament from the terrorist attack on December 13, 2001. But we were deprived of the old pension scheme a few years after the incident," said Ranbir Singh, general secretary of the confederation of ex-paramilitary forces martyrs welfare association (CoEPFMWA).

Echoing the same view, CoEPFMWA president Jayendra Singh Rana queried, "Our service is no less than Army, Navy, and Air Force. But, why such treatment to us?" Rana noted that in the last 10 years, more than 1,300 central paramilitary force personnel committed suicide, while 82,000 more availed the VRS (Voluntary Retirement System).

The major demands of the CoEPFMWA include implementation of the Delhi HC order, the establishment of Ardh Sena Flag Fund along the lines of Army Flag Day Fund, the constitution of paramilitary welfare boards in the states so that pension, rehabilitation and welfare issues can be resolved, 50 percent GST exemption to CPC (canteen) of central paramilitary forces, implementation of one rank one pension for para forces, beginning paramilitary service pay on the lines of military service pay, among others.

Noting that lack of response on part of the government will result in a tough stand being taken by the 20 lakh paramilitary families in the forthcoming assembly as well as 2024 Lok Sabha elections.