Antony favours armed forces, wants anomalies in Sixth CPC sorted out

New Delhi, Sep 19 : Defence Minister A K Antony has strongly favoured sorting out of "anomalies" in the Sixth Central Pay Commission (CPC) notification raised by the three services chiefs in their representation to the government.

In his latest letter to Finance Minister P Chidambaram this week, Antony raised the issues, including the ones relating to Personnel Below Officer Rank (PBORs), top Defence Ministry sources said in New Delhi on Friday.

"Yes, the Defence Minister has written a letter to the Finance Minister in which he has raised certain issues relating to the disparities that has crept into the pay commission notification," the sources confirmed.

Among the issues raised by Antony was the one relating to the "extant pensionary weightage" and sought that it be restored till the time the proposal for lateral entry for them into paramilitary and central police forces was approved and implemented.

Under the Sixth CPC proposal, the PBORs are to be given an opportunity for lateral entry into the paramilitary and central police forces, but they would forego 50 per cent of their pension calculated on the basis of their last drawn pay at retirement.

But the government is yet to approve the proposal for lateral entry, which has led to a situation where the PBORs lose out both on re-employment and pension fronts.

Most PBORs retire at a relatively young age of about 35 years, after putting in about 15 to 17 years of service in the armed forces, a move aimed at keeping the fighting force young.

ANI