Govt says panel looking into anomalies in implementing OROP

New Delhi: There are certain anomalies in the implementation of the One Rank, One Pension (OROP) for retired defence personnel which are being looked into by a committee, the government told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

There were certain issues which related either to anomalies or about certain other issues which were pending. They have all been referred to a committee headed by a retired chief justice.

“I do hope that the committee, headed by a retired Judge, which is the judicial tribunal, is trying to resolve all unsettled views, all ambiguities and anomalies and will come out with its recommendations very soon,” finance minister Arun Jaitley said.

He said the defence personnel are at an advantage over the civilian employees as their revision of pension would take place every five years against ten years for civilian employees. “In the case of civilian employees it takes place when the Pay Commission meets every ten years. Therefore, in the case of armed forces, it is five years. This itself gives to all retired persons a significant amount of an advantage after the implementation of OROP,” he said.

The finance minister said there were seven points in the decision that the ministry of defence mentioned when it announced the implementation of the OROP.

Jaitley said the OROP has been a very longstanding demand as far as the defence forces are concerned and the OROP did not have a standardised definition as such till government held detailed consultations with retired defence personnel.