New Delhi: The All-India Ex-Servicemen Welfare Association (AIEWA) has come out strongly against the new entitlement rules for award of disability compensation for military personnel, saying that the changes “turn medical science on its head and beat logic to death”.
In its second statement addressing the Ministry of Defence (MoD), the association sought an “immediate withdrawal of these draconian rules which are an assault on the dignity of disabled soldiers and future widows”.
The ‘Entitlement Rules for Casualty Pension and Disability Compensation Awards to Armed Forces Personnel, 2023’, which came into effect from 21 September, have made several changes to the death and disability pensions extended to retired defence personnel.
One of the changes is changing the term ‘disability pension’ or ‘disability element of pension’ to ‘impairment relief’. This applies to personnel who retire on superannuation or are discharged from service either owing to an ailment or voluntarily.
The association had earlier objected to this change, in its previous statement issued on 21 September.
After a section of retired defence personnel lashed out at the MoD for the new rules, the Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff released a statement saying no changes were made either in the nature or the extent of death or disability compensation that is awarded to entitled personnel.
On Thursday, the AIEWA questioned why the new entitlement rules were introduced if there was no change. “When faced with an onslaught of protests and pushback, the officers through official social media handles are indulging in misinformation, stating therein that there has been no change in the entitlement for any category of death and disability. If there is no change, then why were the new rules brought out?”
Under the old rules, the Association said, the disability percentage granted for diseases like heart disease and hypertension aggravated by military service was reduced from 30 percent to 10 percent and 5 percent, “thereby taking it below the minimum percentage required for disability pension or impairment relief, which is 20 percent”.
It further said the name was changed to ‘impairment relief’ so that it is taken out of the tax exemption regime. ‘Disability element and service element of disability pension’ are exempted from Income Tax. Even in the case of the ‘War Injury Relief’, the association added, it would no longer be treated as a pension.
“One fails to understand as to how medical science and medical assessment of extent of disability has suddenly changed one fine day in September 2023 for military personnel alone,” it said.
The association had contended that the new rules put jawans at a disadvantage compared to civilian employees, particularly in terms of the requirement of 10 years of service to earn an Invalid Pension.
Another concern flagged by the AIEWA is the changes in the guide to medical officers regarding diseases
“All cancers except those caused by smoking etc. were deemed to be aggravated by service in case of worsening during military service, but now all cancers have been taken out of the list and only those caused by radiation or exposure to chemicals during service will be included in the attributable list,” it said.
Similarly, all types of diabetes were excluded from the attributable or aggravation list, it said. “The effect of stress and strain is medically well-known to affect insulin levels.”
The rules regarding psychiatric or behavioural disorders were “insensitive”, it said.
“Showing utter insensitivity to psychiatric/behavioural disorders, the same have been linked with only combat areas, 3-month continuous service in high-altitude etc. as if military service or being away from family or inability to cope with domestic issues due to military service has no link with psychiatric disorders,” the Association said.
This, it said, goes against the law laid down by the Supreme Court and shows “utter disdain for mental health of soldiers by linking psychiatric issues with mathematical formulae such as 3 months of continuous service in high altitude areas”.
Earlier, the family of military personnel with a disability pension, who died within 10 years of service, was entitled to Special Family Pension.
The association argued that the new rules mentioned that the benefit would only go to the widow in case a death occurs within seven years and that it was not applicable if the death takes place after the age of 60 years.
In cases of aggravation, the new rules state that a disability of only more than 50 percent would qualify for this clause. This was not the cause earlier, the AIEWA argued.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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