Parrikar okay with panel’s suggestions to reduce litigation
Vijay Mohan
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, August 21
In a step that could have far-reaching reforms for the armed forces, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has given the go-ahead for implementing the recommendations made by the Committee of Experts for reducing litigation, resolving pension cases and service disputes and strengthening the process of redressal of grievances.
The committee, which comprised former Adjutant General Lt Gen Mukesh Sabharwal, former Military Secretary Lt Gen Richard Khare, Punjab and Haryana High Court lawyer Maj Navdeep Singh, former Judge Advocate General Maj Gen T Parshad and Kargil war veteran Maj DP Singh, submitted its 509- page report with 75 recommendations in November 2015.
Sources say the implementation process has been divided into three parts. The action for implementation on the first part shall be taken by the MoD directly, the second part requires consultation with other ministries before implementation, which has been directed to be completed within 45 days, and the third requires constitution of further study groups as recommended by the committee in conjunction with the three Services.
The committee had been set up in line with the Prime Minister’s directions that there should be minimum litigation or service grievances so that the focus could remain on core issues of governance. The MoD had stated that the committee had “postulated practical, workable, reformatory and gradual solutions”.
The committee has recommended that statutory complaints on promotions be examined objectively by an independent “grievances examination committee” consisting of a retired Army officer, a civil services officer and an independent legal expert rather than junior officers of the MoD. It had also deprecated the MoD for overreliance on financial authorities for seeking comments on merits of impending policy decisions or even medical aspects of disabilities rather than just financial implications. The committee had stated that in cases decided in favour of employees, appeals should be limited only in exceptional cases at best till the High Court and only in rarest of rare cases to the Supreme Court.
The committee had also recommended a better presence of the military on social media, including controlled internal blogs to provide a catharsis and vent to grievances of the rank and file.
