Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 5: Retired police personnel and members of the fire services held a protest at Hari Singh Park in Jammu here today, highlighting the long-pending demands related to pay anomalies and discrimination in post-retirement benefits.
The protest was led by Ajit Singh under the banner of the Non-Gazetted Police Pensioners Welfare Forum.
The Forum raised serious concerns about Government Order Number 229F of 2014, which addresses pay anomalies but is applied prospectively from October 17, 2014.
The protestors argued that the order should have been effective from 1996, when the 5th Pay Commission was implemented.
They said that only the Police Department was left out, and many affected personnel have since passed away without receiving the benefit. They demanded that surviving family members be compensated.
The Forum also pointed out that those who retired before 2019 are not eligible for ECHS cards, a facility extended to those who retired after 2019.
They demanded that this benefit be made available to all retired personnel regardless of retirement year.
The protestors demanded that SPOs (Special Police Officers) be paid at par with their Punjab counterparts and be provided uniforms, medical facilities, and mess benefits.
They also asked that VDC (Village Defence Committee) members receive the same pay and benefits as SPOs based on their duties. They also questioned the disparity in medical allowance, pointing out that Leh UT has raised it to Rs 1000, while in Jammu and Kashmir it remains Rs 300, despite both becoming Union Territories at the same time.
The Forum appealed to the Government to address these issues urgently.
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