Defence ministry cannot issue communication on payment of OROP arrears in installments: SC
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday said the Ministry of Defence cannot take law in its own hands by issuing communication on payment of One Rank-One Pension (OROP) arrears in four installments.
A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala asked the ministry to immediately withdraw its January 20 communication, which said OROP arrears will be paid in four installments.
Attorney General R Venkataramani said the Centre has paid one installment of OROP arrears to ex-servicemen but need some more time for further payments.
"First withdraw (your) January 20 notification on payment of OROP arrears, then we will consider your application for time," the bench told Venkataramani.
The bench said the defence ministry's January 20 communication was completely contrary to its verdict and it cannot unilaterally say it will pay OROP arrears in four installments. It asked the attorney general to prepare a note giving details of the quantum of payment to be paid, the modalities to be adopted and what's the priority segment for the payment of arrears.
"We want that there has to be some kind of categorisation and older people should be paid the arrears first. Over four lakh pensioners have died since the litigation started," the bench said.
The top court is hearing an application filed by Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement (IESM), through advocate Balaji Srinivasan, in which they have sought setting aside of the defence ministry's January 20 communication.
On February 27, the top court pulled up the defence ministry over the delay in payment of OROP arrears to eligible pensioners of the armed forces and sought an explanation from the secretary concerned for issuing the communication extending the timeline for payments fixed by the court.
On January 9, the top court granted time till March 15 to the Centre for payment of total arrears of OROP. But on January 20, the ministry issued a communication that the arrears shall be paid in four yearly installments.
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Govt floats tender for new Shivaji Maharaj statue in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg
Mumbai (PTI): In the wake of collapse of the Shivaji Maharaj statue in Sindhudurg, the Maharashtra government has issued a tender for the construction of a new 60-foot-tall statue there, nearly twice the size of the previous one, officials said on Wednesday.
The statue will be built at a cost of Rs 20 crore and the government has set a six-month timeframe for the completion of the work, they said.
A 35-foot-tall statue of the 17th century Maratha empire founder, unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Rajkot fort in Malvan tehsil of Sindhudurg district on December 4 (Navy Day) last year, collapsed on August 26 amid strong winds.
The statue's sculptor, Jaydeep Apte, was later arrested.
The government has faced flak as the opposition parties alleged the decision to install the statue in Sindhudurg was taken haphazardly, which resulted in poor quality of work.
Maharashtra Public Works Department (PWD) had flagged concerns over rust gathering on Shivaji Maharaj’s statue and suggested permanent measures in a letter sent to a Naval official just six days before the structure collapsed.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had said the statue was designed and constructed by the Indian Navy.
He claimed winds were blowing at 45 km per hour when the statue collapsed.
A tender has been issued for the construction of a new statue and its height would be 60 feet, a PWD official said.
"The total cost would now be Rs 20 crore, including its engineering, installation and maintenance. The government has given six months to complete the work. The height of the statue would be 60 feet," the official said.
