Define clearly physical and battle casualty: CIC to government
, ET Bureau|
Mar 06, 2018, 08.59 AM IST
NEW DELHI: Does the family of a soldier who died of a frost bite or a snake bite get the same benefits and pensions as one who died of a bullet? The Central Information Commission last week asked the government to resolve the confusion among families of martyrs on physical and battle casualty and also consolidate its circulars on the matter issued over the last 40 years.
Since 1972, the defence ministry has issued at least four circulars defining battle casualty. The commission, in an order by Bimal Julka, has said “that there is a perceptible lack of clarity in the various circulars issued by the defence ministry from time to time in respect of pension benefits on death or disability in aggravated cases and determining such entitlements in different categories.
The areas of special family pension, liberalized family pension and the procedures adopted in settling the entitlements in each of these cases need to be comprehensively captured in a consolidated form for the benefit, ease and convenience of the affected defence services personnel.”
This came about as Nityanand Das, the 70-year-old father of captain Saswata Das who died of wasp bite in 2009 while posted on duty in Kupwara, filed over 79 applications with the government, demanding clarity on which year’s circular is applicable for his son.”
After the concept of war injury, pension was introduced in 1972 for all war injured personnel who were invalidated or who died in any war-like operation and border skirmishes. The circular was modified in 1986, 1996 and in 2001.
Das told ET, “There cannot be discrimination in the death of a soldier. And the mindset is such that officers want to go with the 1986 order which puts people like us in special pensions, though the order has been superseded by a recent one.
Since 1972, the defence ministry has issued at least four circulars defining battle casualty. The commission, in an order by Bimal Julka, has said “that there is a perceptible lack of clarity in the various circulars issued by the defence ministry from time to time in respect of pension benefits on death or disability in aggravated cases and determining such entitlements in different categories.
The areas of special family pension, liberalized family pension and the procedures adopted in settling the entitlements in each of these cases need to be comprehensively captured in a consolidated form for the benefit, ease and convenience of the affected defence services personnel.”
This came about as Nityanand Das, the 70-year-old father of captain Saswata Das who died of wasp bite in 2009 while posted on duty in Kupwara, filed over 79 applications with the government, demanding clarity on which year’s circular is applicable for his son.”
After the concept of war injury, pension was introduced in 1972 for all war injured personnel who were invalidated or who died in any war-like operation and border skirmishes. The circular was modified in 1986, 1996 and in 2001.
Das told ET, “There cannot be discrimination in the death of a soldier. And the mindset is such that officers want to go with the 1986 order which puts people like us in special pensions, though the order has been superseded by a recent one.
