We too deserve better honorarium, say war heroes

PUNE: The state government's whopping hike in the one-time grants for those winning gallantry awards from May this year has not gone down well with past recipients of these awards. They have demanded that the hike be applicable to them also.
In a GR (government resolution) issued on May 7, 2011, the state announced increase in the grant under the Maharashtra Gaurav Pursakar scheme.The hike was announced to mark the state's golden jubilee year celebrations. The increase ranges from Rs 11,000 to Rs 23 lakh, depending on the importance of the gallantry award. For example, Paramvir Chakra and Ashok Chakra awardees will here after get Rs 25 lakh instead of Rs 1.72 lakh and Rs 1.45 lakh respectively. However, the new resolution does not include gallantry award recipients who have shown valour in past wars.
The GR states that only those who win such gallantry awards on or after May 1, 2011, will get benefit of this increase. This is injustice to those who have fought wars in the past," said Major Uday Sathe (retd), while speaking to TOI.
Sathe, who has been raising issues of highly-decorated soldiers through Yudha Vir Pratishthan, has written letters to the state government and the Union government to highlight the disparity in the one-time honorarium awarded to war heroes. "The Punjab government has given massive hikes to war heroes of previous conflicts. But our state government has hardly done anything. The number of war heroes is not very big in the state. Still, the state has not considered them while increasing the amount," Sathe said.
Commodore B B Bhagwat (retd), a Bangladesh war hero, said the state government has neglected the war heroes of the past who risked their lives in fighting the enemy. "Politicians make big claims when we go to war, but once the war is over, they forget us," he added.
Bhagwat, who has served on the prestigious Vikrant aircraft carrier, said, "The state wants to show that it cares for its soldiers and that it wants to do something for those who fight wars in the future, but what about those who have valiantly fought wars in the past?"
The pay hike is applicable to even those who win awards during peace time operations. There are a total of 14 types of awards.
When contacted, an official from the general administration department, which issued the GR, requesting anonymity, said, "A cut-off date had to be decided and the ministers concerned took the decision of awarding the hike from May1, 2011, onwards".
Bhaskar Jadhav, minister of state, who looks after the ex-servicemen's welfare department, said, "I will look into the matter. If there is any mistake in the GR, it will be corrected."