Sunday 31 May 2015

VETERANS BETRAYED

ALL INDIA EX SERVICES WELFARE ASSOCIATION

 aiewa_association@rediffmail.com 
Web site : 
www.aiewa.org
Blog : aiewa.blogspot.in
(We Were THIRTY YEARS YOUNG On 21 Nov 2011)
 
M 35 Palika Bhawan, 
 RK Puram, Sector 13,
New Delhi 110066.
Ph :011 26110710
Fax :011 241O6144

Dear Friends,

General

We have been pursuing the implementation of OROP ever since 22 Feb 1982 when we first put it up to the Prime Minister.

Our Messiah

When Modi ji on 15 Sep 1913 announced the acceptance of OROP if he came to power, we all thought that this is the end of long and tedious struggle at last. We all got to seeing that he wins the Elections.  

Our First Deadline   

The Modijis Party came to power with an overwhelming majority and the parleys started to interpret OROP into concrete terms so that the Govt letter can be issued for its disbursement. As this exercise was getting prolonged unduly, we sent a letter to PM asking him to control the bureaucracy and issue the letter by 31 Dec 14 or else we would consider that he wants some more sacrifices from us. To win him over we would gladly do it. Our plan was to undertake an indefinite fast as we did in 1987 and 1997.

MOD's Request For More Time

In Dec 14 we received a letter from MOD to exercise restraint as the matter was being resolved and would be settled soon. We accepted the advice of the MOD and fixed 31 Mar 15 as new date for making the sacrifices. In Mar 15 we got another letter advising us to give some more time as the matter was being resolved soon. We again accepted the advice and fixed 30 Jun as the fresh date as deadline. This date is still firm and we are going to act if the Govt fails us again whether any other initiative is taken or not..

PM's Commitment

The Veterans were hoping that he will announce OROP  at the Rally to Celebrate one year in office on 25 May. When he did not say a word about it, the whole community of Veterans were seething with anger. Wing Co Suresh Karnik and another officer took it upon themselves to express their anguish by refusing to attend the function organised for Defence Minister. To control the damage done by those officers the PM has made a statement assuring Veterans that his Govt was fully committed to implementing OROP. He also announced that all his commitments will be fulfilled in five years. Thats what the position is as far as the leadership is concerned.

Bureaucratic Game Plan

While the leadership wants to give within five years at least, the bureaucracy who for the last 33 years have been  scuttling every leadership initiative have worked out their own plan about giving this a final burial. They are going to delay its award till the 7th CPC is ready to take it over. Once they are ready they are going to tell the leadership, since they have failed to resolve this issue, despite efforts by all, why not give it for working it out to the 7th CPC. A proposal to which leadership will gladly accept. Then the CPC which comprises mainly of Bureaucrats will be told to reject it. Once it is rejected by them they will come up to say look it has been rejected by an independent Statutory Body how can it be given. With that the final burial of this issue. Even leadership will agree with this and wash off their hands. 

This trash i have been confronted with during Fifth CPC also.

Joint Action

As the situation is this is as good as dead issue. Our notice for action after 30 Jun stands. Why not we all resolve to follow this Resolution we sent in August 2015 now unitedly. First this was to be carried out by us and our supporting organisations, now it will be all the Veterans. We can pass a Resolution and send it to the Govt signed by all organisations.

If acceptable we can work out the Resolution earlier which can be signed on 06 Jun when we meet. We can then set up an operational room and run it till we achieve our objective. 

If acceptable we can meet on 03 Jun in my office. Mutually acceptable time can be fixed for the meeting.


Regards

Lt Col Inderjit Singh
Chairman, AIEWA
Mob : 0 9811007629

Friday 29 May 2015

PM Narendra Modi reviews implementation of key issues of ex-servicemen

By Aman Sharma, ET Bureau | 28 May, 2015, 05.34AM IST

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked Defence Secretary G Mohan Kumar to make a presentation to him regarding the pension issues of ex-servicemen while the health ministry has been told to explore not insisting on a plethora of documents but rather use Aadhaar to reissue CGHS cards 

Modi chaired his third interaction through PRAGATI — the ICT-based, multimodal platform for Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation — on Wednesday, where he reviewed the implementation of key issues pertaining to ex-servicemen.

"Expressing serious concern at the perceived atmosphere of indifference with regard to issues pertaining to ex-servicemen such as delay in pension and retirement benefits, the prime minister directed the concerned authorities to pay more attention to their resolution at the earliest," an official statement from the Prime Minister's Office said. Sources told ET the PM said some "systematic changes" may be required with regard to welfare and problems of ex-servicemen and asked the defence secretary to give him a presentation on it soon.

The prime minister's intervention could be crucial as for the past several years the biggest grievance of exservicemen is the non-implementation of their demand for One Rank One Pension — that all officers and soldiers of equal seniority should be given the same pension, no matter when they retired.

The OROP issue is fast becoming a political hot potato for the BJP-led government that had promised its implementation during the election campaign but the issue has not been resolved. A major rally in planned in New Delhi next week by ex-servicemen organisations to protest nonimplementation of OROP. While Defence Minister Manohar Parikkar recently said the matter has been cleared and sent to the finance ministry, raising hopes of an announcement, but it now appears the finance ministry has again asked the defence ministry for some clarifications, in what could delay the matter even further.

At the PRAGATI meeting, the health ministry was told to explore not insisting on a host of address and identity documents afresh while re-issuing CGHS (Central Government 
Health Service) cards to government servants in Delhi. The health ministry is in the process of re-issuing lakhs of CGHS cards upon expiry of their validity and informed the PM that they would be re-issuing nearly three lakh CGHS cards in the next 45 days.

Sources told ET that the PM suggested that the ministry could rely on Aadhaar numbers to reissue CGHS cards since details of officials are mostly already seeded into the UIDAI platform. The ministry was asked to revert back to the  PMO within 10 days on the prospect, sources said. "Reviewing the quality of service under CGHS, the PM gave clear directions to the departments concerned to resolve pending issues and grievances at the earliest," the PMO statement said.

Armed Forces Veteran declines to be present in a function to be attended by Defence Minister & CM of Maharashtra

Disgusted with government policies and practices with respect to armed forces, Suresh D Karnik, hero of 1971 war, declines an invitation to attend a function to be attended by Manohar Parrikar and Devendra Fadnavis.
Veteran Wing Commander Suresh Damodar Karnik has politely declined an invitation extended by Shiv Shahir Babasaheb Purandare for a function to be held on 28th May in the presence of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
In an email reply to Dr Purandare, Wing Commander Karnik, a recipient of the Vir Chakra for his role in the 1971 War, said, "We are unable to accept the invite as we find that in the present dispensation our respected political leaders seem to pursue a Policy towards the Armed Forces which imbibes 'NATO' as our India Policy viz 'NO ACTION TALK ONLY'."
"Alongside the Babus who formulate, guide, decide on behalf of our national leaders seem to be pursuing a policy of inching towards making Defence Forces into a Defiant Force. Being a diehard Nationalist Indian I strongly oppose the above stated Policies," he said.
Wing Commander Karnik was a combat fighter pilot during his service in the Indian Air Force (IAF) and participated in several wars and battles. He actively participated in the acts like 'beyond the call of duty' missions in life threatening environments in the combat zones against enemies.
During the operations against Pakistan in December 1971, (the then) Squadron Leader Suresh Damodar Karnik served as a flight commander of a bomber squadron, the No. 16 Squadron, know as Black Cobras of the IAF. He flew six very important and difficult missions, by day as well as by night, in the Western and Eastern Sectors. These missions involved day and night bombing raids over enemy airfields and interdiction of enemy boats by day. The interdiction missions were flown against a large volume of flak, resulting in damage to his aircraft by enemy fire. Despite this, he pressed home his attacks and destroyed a number of enemy boats. He also carried out a day bombing raid over Chittagong airfield in the face of heavy antiaircraft fire. During this mission, he bombed and destroyed a large oil dump.
For this act, Wing Commander Suresh Karnik was awarded the Vir Chakra, the third in precedence in the wartime gallantry awards, which comes after the Param Vir Chakra and Maha Vir Chakra.
Recalling the advice given by Chanakya to Mauryan King Chandragupta ages ago, the veteran Wing Commander, said, "The Armed Forces are the successors of the Mauryan soldier even today."
Chanakya had said, "While the Magadha citizenry endeavours to make the state prosper and flourish, the Mauryan soldier guarantees that the state continues to exist! He is the silent 'sine qua non' of our very being, the absolute prerequisite of all imperial welfare and prosperity!"

Tuesday 26 May 2015

Under threat of attachment of property, MoD implements 250 AFT judgments

Date: Tue, 26 May 2015 09:13:30 +0530
Subject: Fwd:
From: ranbirlamba@gmail.com
To: pmravindran@gmail.com; abpssp@gmail.com; kkrishan123@gmail.com; ijsingh34@hotmail.com; stperumal@gmail.com; sanjhamorcha2009@gmail.com; rnrkrish@yahoo.com; skaransingh@yahoo.com; aiewa81@hotmail.com; tptyagi@gmail.com; rdoaindia@gmail.com; gs@sainiksangh.org; satbirsm@gmail.com; preetimisra76@gmail.com; ranbirlamba@gmail.com; shivrana@gmail.com; bimal.cob@gmail.com; tannajee456@gmail.com; scbhardwaj06@gmail.com; nkbalan.col@gmail.com; beniwalg@ymail.com; rajkadyan8@gmail.com; aiewaorg@gmail.com; aiewa_association@rediffmail.com; nareshakhosla@yahoo.com; kkshrma68@gmail.com; vkmehta012@ymail.com; drkiranchanan@hotmail.com; iesm2008@gmail.com; hbalakrishnan@yahoo.com; colonelrajan@gmail.com; colpgoyal@gmail.com; jagtarsingh76@yahoo.co.in; kapoorrajeme@yahoo.co.in; bishtprs1948@gmail.com; ashutoshadhaw@yahoo.com; centraloffice@bjp.org; defsecy@nic.in; ajaitley@sansad.nic.in; secy-7cpc@nic.in; vps.rana@ymail.com


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: tannajee456 <tannajee456@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, May 26, 2015 at 8:43 AM
Subject:
To: Abhimanyu Sharma <abhimanyu06.sharma@gmail.com>, PRS Bisht <bishtprs1948@gmail.com>, Colonel Basudeb Bhattacharyya <bb3212242579@gmail.com>, Bimal Sar kar <bimal.cob@gmail.com>, dilbagh singh Bariana <dsb3467@gmail.com>, Balbir Vishwamitra Singh Parmar <bvsparmar@yahoo.com>, "Dr. Bharat Singh Sambyal" <drbharatsambyal@gmail.com>, devinder kaushal <devinder.kaushal@gmail.com>, sebastian dcouto <lloyddcouto2004@yahoo.co.in>, JOYKUMAR HANGLEM <hanglemjks@gmail.com>, Laishram Joychand <laishramjoychand@yahoo.co.in>, Kewal Krishan Sharma <kkts122@yahoo.co.in>, Ranbir Lamba <ranbirlamba@gmail.com>, preetimisra76 <preetimisra76@gmail.com>, Pramod Kumar <pramodkrleo@yahoo.com>

A bench headed by Justice SS Thakur had made it clear that the tribunal would be taking coercive action to get its orders executed.

 

 
 | New Delhi | Published on:May 25, 2015 9:52 pm
Faced with the imminent prospect of attachment of properties and salaries of the Ministry of Defence, implementation orders in about 250 cases were placed before the Chandigarh Bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) on Monday in petitions pending before the tribunal for non-execution of its judgments.
Some of the judgments, whose implementation orders were produced today, are as old as four years. All judgments pertain to disability benefits for disabled and war-disabled soldiers.
While passing such strong orders for the first time in a bunch of execution petitions last month, a bench headed by the newly appointed judicial member Justice SS Thakur had made it clear that the tribunal would be taking coercive action and invoking the powers of execution under Order 21 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) to get its orders executed, which had not been implemented by the Ministry of Defence.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court had passed an order last year in a Public Interest Litigation titled ‘Maj Navdeep Singh Versus Union of India’ making it clear that the AFT could invoke provisions of Order 21 of CPC to get its orders implemented. Order 21 provides for both detention and attachment of property of judgment debtors. It was brought to the notice of the High Court that “keeping the implementation of judicial orders in suspended animation was an affront to the majesty of law which the Tribunal was duty-bound to protect and was also against the grain of judicial dignity”.
Many organisations, including the All India Ex-Servicemen Welfare Association through its Chairperson, Bhim Sen Sehgal, had repeatedly complained to the defence minister in the recent past regarding the contemptuous behaviour of the Ministry of Defence in not showing due regard to orders of the AFT and for not implementing the same.
The Chandigarh Bench of the AFT was constituted in 2009 and it is stated that more than 70 per cent cases pending before it pertain to non-execution of orders.
The failure to get its own orders implemented by the AFT had remained a sore point with litigants. The tribunal has not been provided with the powers of civil contempt and even an explicit execution procedure had not been provided by the government. The Kerala High Court had however ruled that non-implementation of orders by MoD amounted to criminal contempt since it amounted to interference in administration of justice.
Similarly, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had recorded in its orders that the tribunal could invoke powers under CPC to execute its orders. In a separate judgment, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had also ruled that the AFT should be brought under the Law Ministry instead of the MoD. An SLP filed by the MoD against the shifting of jurisdiction is pending in the Supreme Court.




--
COL LAMBA

Monday 25 May 2015

OROP may be announced today - TAKE THIS NEWS WITH A TABLESPOON OF SALT???

TNN | May 25, 2015, 04.25 AM IST


NEW DELHI: The government is finally set to announce the implementation of the one-rank, one-pension (OROP) mechanism with a corpus of about Rs 8,300 crore for over 25 lakh ex-servicemen, who have been demanding it for long but are yet to get it despite years of protest. 

Government sources on Sunday said OROP is likely to be announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally in Mathura on Monday to mark the first anniversary of the NDA government. 

Incidentally, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and former defence minister A K Antony had both attacked the NDA government on Saturday for "criminal inaction" in delaying the rollout of OROP since they claimed the previous UPA government had announced it in February 2014. 

As first reported by TOI, the Modi government has defined "military pension" as a category separate from other kinds of pensions to justify implementation of OROP since soldiers, sailors and airmen as well as their officers retire at a much younger age than other government employees. 

OROP basically implies payment of a uniform pension to personnel retiring in the same rank with the same length of service, irrespective of their date of retirement. For instance, two officers who served as colonels for seven years will get the same pension even if they retired a decade apart. 

Successive governments in the past had contended that granting full OROP was neither financially nor administratively possible since it could lead to a cascading effect with similar demands being made by others like paramilitary personnel. But the government is convinced that the service conditions of other government employees simply cannot be equated with those of military personnel, who retire at a much earlier age and undergo prolonged hardship tenures. The majority of soldiers, for instance, retire when they are just 34-35 years old. 

The OROP announcement will come as a big relief for ex-servicemen, who have been agitating for it for several years now, with many of them even returning their medals to register their protest against what all political parties have promised but never actually delivered.

Delay in Decisions by a Govt that is advertising speedy decisions? No Funds??

Aerial View

Being Informed is the Best Weapon. 
http://sharad10525.blogspot.in/

Saturday, 23 May 2015

Delay in Decisions by a Govt that is advertising speedy decisions? No Funds??


Quote “The issue over one rank one pension (OROP) scheme may not be resolved in the near future as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Firday said the ‘methodology of calculation’ was still being worked out in consultation with the Defence Ministry.” Asserting the government’s commitment towards implementing OROP, Jaitley said the Finance Ministry was in dialogue with the Defence Ministry on the methodology of calculation, hinting at no immediate resolution of the complicated issue” Unquote

[Source: Deccan Herald, Bangalore edition, Page 13, Saturday, 23 May 2015.] 

Just going back 21 months ...
The much reviled UPA Govt constituted a Cabinet Secretary (the same gentleman who is functioning in the same post in the present Govt) Committee vide orders dated 9th July 2012 and amended on 12th July 2012 to examine anomalies in pay, pension and allowances related to the Defence Forces. The Committee submitted its report in late August 2012.

PCDA (P) in the reviled UPA regime issued the Minimum Guaranteed Pensions for retired officers vide Circular No. 500 (13 pages of which 6 pages were tables), and Improvement of Pensions for JCOs & ORs vide Circular No. 501 (49 pages of which 42 pages were tables), both on 17th January 2013 and the effective date was 24th September 2012, i.e the date when the Govt approved the modified enhanced pensions, as has been argued in different cases in the Courts. The effective date has since been directed to be 1st January 2006 (CA 8875 of 2011 refers) by the Supreme Court.

The calculations, to prove a point that if needed bureaucrats can move with alacrity, were completed in under 4 (FOUR) months and detailed tables were provided in the said circulars, after due approval of the Ministry of Finance.

But Today.....
So, if the PCDA (P), the DESW of MoD, the Deptt of Expenditure of MoF could compile complicated sets of calculation and tabulation and implement them, then are the same Departments suddenly deprived of expertise on methodology, tabulations, calculations et al that the NDA Govt is delaying implementation of OROP on the pretext of what the Finance Minister has been quoted as stating?

 It gives the inescapable impression that the “tareek per tareek” by the Honourable Defence Minister was just to keep ESM, widows and NoK dangling by pretending that the matter is so complicated and so difficult to resolve.   

So much for the promise of the Honourable Prime Minister, the Honourable  Finance-cum-Defence Minister and the now Honourable Defence Minister to 25 lakh ex-servicemen, widows and NoK of deceased ESM!

Or is there something more to the OROP issue than meets the eye? If there is a shortage of funds as evidenced by Nil amount set aside for OROP in the Revised Estimates for year 2014-15? Please see accompanying article where a humongous amount has been given as exemptions to corporates! And is a 8% increase over what the UPA gave in year 2013-14!  

May be we will get know first hand from the Honourable Prime Minister on 26th May 2015!
*        *        *        *        *

P.P.S: 

Concessions to corporates at Rs 62,398 crore in FY'15: Arun Jaitley

PTI May 5, 2015, 05.49PM IST

(Arun Jaitley said the…)
NEW DELHI: Tax exemptions and incentives to corporates have resulted in a revenue impact of Rs 62,398.6 crore to the exchequer in 2014-15, 8 per cent higher than the previous fiscal, Parliament was informed today.
In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the details of revenue impact on central taxes due to various concessions and exemptions have been detailed in the Budget document for 2015-16.
"The revenue impact in respect of corporate tax payers during the year 2013-14 is Rs 57,793 crore (after taking into account collection due to MAT)," he said.
The revenue impact figures in respect of corporate tax payers for 2014-15 fiscal has been estimated at Rs 62,398.6 crore," he said.
Jaitley said an assessee can claim deduction under various sections of the Income Tax. "Tax incentives or exemptions under central taxes have been provided to promote exports, balanced regional development, creation of infrastructure facilities, generation of employment, rural development, scientific research and development, cooperative sector and also to encourage savings by individuals and donations for charity to achieve the policy objectives of the government," he said.

In reply to another question, Jaitley said the Budget 2015-16 proposes to reduce corporate tax rate from 30 per cent to 25 per cent over the next four years. The reduction, he said, would be accompanied by rationalisation and removal of various kinds of tax exemptions and incentives for corporate taxpayers.
===========================

One Rank One Pension and competitive politics


Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and other leaders arrive for a meeting with ex-servicemen at the party headquarters in New Delhi on Saturday. Photo: R. V. Moorthy
The Hindu

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and other leaders arrive for a meeting with ex-servicemen at the party headquarters in New Delhi on Saturday. Photo: R. V. Moorthy
TOPICS

We will pressurise the govt. to take a decision at the earliest: Rahul

Even as the Modi government dithered over the economics of implementing the “One Rank One Pension” (OROP) scheme for the armed forces ahead of its first anniversary in power, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi took on the ruling dispensation on this issue on Saturday: shortly after meeting members of the ex-servicemen’s cell of his party, he stressed that though the UPA government had allocated money for it, the Modi government had failed to implement the scheme.

“We will pressurise the government and ask them to take a decision at the earliest,” he said.

Raising the emotional pitch on the issue, he reminded the government that those who sought the implementation of the OROP scheme were the ones who secured the borders of the nation. “They [ex servicemen] had knocked on the doors of the government, but nothing materialised. The Army, Navy, Air Force take care of the nation, secure our borders; their demands should be met,” Mr. Gandhi said.

Antony attacks govt.Later in the day, Congress veteran and the former Defence Minister A.K. Antony took the story one notch up when he slammed the Modi government for compromising on national security. “The present government has compromised our national security,” he said, pointing out that “The defence expenditure this year is the lowest in recent years.”
The frontal attack on the BJP-led NDA government on the twin issues of national security and welfare of soldiers — an issue that the BJP has always sought to give a nationalistic spin — comes just two days before Prime Minster Narendra Modi’s scheduled first anniversary rally in Mathura where the government hoped the Prime Minister would announce the OROP scheme.

Indeed, earlier this month, shortly after the Defence Ministry cleared the implementation of the OROP mechanism, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had told journalists in Goa that the Finance Ministry would clear OROP “in a few days.” But with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley saying on Friday that the “methodology of calculation” was still being worked out in consultation with the Defence Ministry, it looked unlikely that it would be resolved by Monday.

Saturday 16 May 2015

Mail From MD ECHS

1. I have been reading a number of E-mails and have come across numerous cases where ECHS beneficiaries are facing difficulties because they are not aware of the procedures laid down for treatment in ECHS empanelled hospitals. May I request you to pass this information on to as many of our veterans to prevent inconvenience to them when they need treatment through ECHS.

2. The guiding principles are as under:-

(a) In case of an ailment and a beneficiary requires any treatment, both OPD or IPD, report to the nearest ECHS Polyclinic.

(b) As far as possible, avail treatment in an ECHS empanelled hospital as it ensures cashless treatment (???? Not the entire truth), thus avoiding financial burden on the veteran.

(c)  Wherever possible, proceed to the empanelled hospital only once the OIC Polyclinic has spoken to the empanelled hospital concerned and obtained a confirmation that a bed is available if admission is required.

(d) If the empanelled hospital demands any cash from the beneficiary, bring it to the notice of the OIC Polyclinic and the undersigned, so that necessary action can be taken to resolve it immediately.

(e) If the beneficiary wants any planned treatment to be carried out in a non- empanelled hospital for any reason, then the following needs to be obtained before the treatment commences:-
(i) Diagnosis of the treating doctor with an estimate of the cost of treatment.
(ii) Approval of the service specialist.
(iii) Approval of MD, ECHS.

(f) However, in case of an emergency, an ECHS beneficiary can go to any hospital and get treated. The nearest Polyclinic should be informed within 48 (working) hours so that the necessary Emergency Information Report can be raised. Conditions that can be considered as emergency have already been elaborated in the ECHS policy letters uploaded on our website. If it is a empanelled hospital the hospital should be informing the Oi/c and in ost cases this can be done on line and approval obtained.

3. I do agree that non-availability of medicines has been a problem in ECHS. ECHS has to obtain all its medicines through the Armed Forces Medical Services and despite our best efforts, there are delays as AFMSDs and SEMOs of MHs have to follow the Defence Procurement procedures for procurement of medicines. The proposal for a pilot project on outsourcing of pharmacy operations of ECHS has not been sanctioned as yet. However, whatever funds are required by the Armed Forces Medical Services for provision of medicines to ECHS Polyclinics are being provided by Central Org, ECHS to the office of DG AFMS. Concerted efforts are being made to improve the compliance level of supply of medicines. I feel this is not going to be resolved and ECHS must think of allowing LP by veteran and reimbursement to Pharmacist on panel particularly in Remote areas and areas where there is no polyclinic.

4. Some of the other benefits that have been recently granted to ECHS beneficiaries are as under:-

(a)    Travel by air in case of an emergency, if no other mode of transport exists.
(b)    (b)Reimbursement of ambulance charges.

5. Some of the other highlights are as under:-

(a) Over 120 new polyclinics have been sensationalized over the last year and a half and most of these are in remote areas.What is the definition of Remote Areas? Gadag has no polyclinic and the nearest is about 70 Kms away nor does it have a hospital on panel nor is it declared a remote area so how do these so called remote area clinic help?

(b) Revised scales of equipment for ECHS polyclinics has been issued by the Govt and the office of DG AFMS has been approached to procure the same at the earliest

(c) All polyclinics have been sanctioned a generator each so that equipment like Dental Chairs can function even when there is no power supply.

(d) 10 Regional Centres have already gone on-line for bill processing. This has speeded up the processing of empanelled hospital bills as also brought in transparency. Sorry Pune has not benefited and hospitals are still complaining of non-payment. Large amounts are held up for minor one or two queries.

(e) 117 hospitals have been empanelled in the last one year with ECHS. Special attention is being given to Mumbai and Coimbatore so that we can have some hospitals empanelled at both these stations. As per website as on Feb 2015 550+ hospitals applications are pending for approval. Some as old as 4 years.

6. May I also request our veterans not to spread false propaganda like the one on a maximum ceiling of Rs 25,000/- for treatment in ECHS. There is no truth in this.

7. The health of the veterans is the concern of ECHS and so long as I am its MD, it will be my ensure health to each one personally. Please do make my mobile No 8527794678 known to everybody, Sir. It will also be nice if the veterans can mention their mobile No whenever they send a mail so that I can personally speak to them and redress their grievances.