Ministry of Defence Starts Retracting Communication on OROP

The ministry has filed an affidavit and a compliance note with the top court after it received criticism on 13 March for unilaterally deciding to pay OROP dues in four instalments. The court had asked the government to withdraw its 20 January communication immediately before it heard the plea of the Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement (IESM) regarding the payment of OROP dues.

The withdrawal of the 20 January communication is subject to clearance from the highest level of the government. The applicant has initiated the process for complying with the court order, but not being empowered to withdraw the communication dated 20 January, both the intimation and initiation has been done on the very same day, according to Vijay Kumar Singh, Secretary of Department of Ex-servicemen Welfare, Ministry of Defence.

In the compliance note, the Defence Ministry said its budget outlay for financial year 2022-2023 is ₹5.85 lakh crore, of which approximately ₹1.32 lakh crore is planned expenditure for total pension disbursement. The government provided a schedule of payment for OROP arrears and said that the total outlay for arrears is ₹28,000 crore. Since the resources are limited, the expenses need to be regulated in such a way that the individual needs are met without compromising the operational readiness of the armed forces, it said.

The government had previously approved OROP for disbursement in four instalments due to its large outlay. The compliance note indicated that the number of armed force pensioners eligible for the OROP was 21 lakh. It is submitted that approximately 14 lakh pensioners including 4 lakh family pensioners had already been paid a substantial portion of the arrears amounting to ₹6,500 crore, and the first instalment payment for all pensioners would be completed by 31 March, which would take the quantum to ₹8,000 crore.