New Delhi, Sep 2 : The Armed Forces have communicated to Defence Minister A K Antony that they were “unwilling to implement” the Sixth Central Pay Commission
(CPC) report without anomalies being removed to restore their status and parity of pay scales.

“A high level delegation from the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) made a presentation to Antony and top officials on anomalies, as introduced in the notified CPC report for officers, though it expressed satisfaction over the pay hikes for personnel below officer rank,” said sources in the Defence Ministry.

After witnessing the presentation, Antony was quoted as assuring the Armed Forces that he would take up the anomalies with the government and get them addressed, sources said.

The presentation comes in the wake of Chairman of COSC Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta’s meeting Antony on Friday evening just hours before the CPC report was notified seeking to stop the government order as the anomalies were not removed.

When Mehta was on a visit to Japan and South Korea early last week, then acting Chairman of COSC and IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major had written to Antony pointing out that the extant parities of Lieutenant Colonels and their equivalents in the Navy and Air Force were lowered by retaining them in Pay Band-3, while raising similarly placed civilian and paramilitary officers to Pay Band-4.

In their presentation to Antony, the COSC representatives pointed out that the Grade Pay of middle-rung officers from Captain to Colonels was fixed at a lesser amount than that of similarly placed officers from all other services.

Another anomaly presented before the Defence Minister was the new category of ''Higher Administrative Grade Plus'' created in all services, except the armed forces, under which the Director General level officers have been placed.

"These HAG Plus officers have been placed in a Pay Band higher than that of even Lieutenant Generals in the Army and their equivalents in the Navy and Air Forces," sources said.

Regarding Colonels, the CPC recommendations of March 24 had suggested that the lowest slab in pay scale S-24 at Rs 14,300 (for group ''A'' services) be fixed at Rs
24,890, by using a multiplication factor of 1.74.

Similarly, for pay scale S-25 (IAS), the lowest slab of Rs 15,100 was reviewed to be fixed at Rs 26,280.

For service officers in the rank of Lt Col (and equivalent) hitherto in S-25 pay scale, the CPC had recommended their pay being fixed at Rs 24,280.

The civilian and paramilitary officers in the extant pay scale S-24 (Rs 14,300-400-18,300) and S-25 (Rs 15,100-400-18,300) were be placed in Pay Band-4, whereas the same was not given to the Armed Forces officers (Lt Cols and equivalents), who are already in S-25.

"The civilian officers who were in a lower pay scale (S-24) and drawing lower pay as compared to Lt Cols and equivalent in the Armed Forces would now draw a higher basic salary in the same pay band," Defence Ministry sources said.

In the second "anomaly, the CPC had recommended a lower Grade Pay for lower and middle-rung officers of the Armed Forces from Captain to Colonels in the Army and their equivalents in Navy and Air Force.

While the Armed Forces pointed out the anomaly, the government agreed to the demand that the officers'' Grade Pay should be increased.

The Armed Forces demand was to equate their Grade Pay with that of similarly placed officers in the civilian and paramilitary services, as recommended by the Sixth CPC.

Instead of equating, the government granted the Armed Forces demand to increase Grade Pay and simultaneously hiked the Grade Pay of officers in other services too, there by introducing another anomaly in the final CPC report. (ANI)