Retired personnel of various paramilitary forces today began a three-day ‘dharna’ here demanding one rank one pension (OROP) benefits and other privileges under the ex-servicemen category.

An association of officers from central forces like Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Border Security Force (BSF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) organised a dharna (sit-in) at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi today.

What is OROP Scheme?

The OROP scheme implies the payment of a uniform pension to personnel retiring in the same rank with the same length of service, regardless of the date on which they retired. At present, pensioners who retired before 2006 draw a lower pension than their counterparts and juniors who retired afterwards.

The protesting veterans said that they have been waiting for implementation of their demands for over a decade now but nothing has been done.

“The dharna is to request and inform the government that its ex-paramilitary personnel are suffering. We have representatives of various states assembled here and they will continue the agitation till November 4,” National General Secretary of All India Central Paramilitary Forces and Ex-servicemen Welfare Association P S Nair said.

“The country cannot sleep peacefully even for a day without the paramilitary forces. There is no proper rehabilitation ensured for these forces. We need the support of the government and public in bettering the lives of these men and women who are on job 24×7 in hard working conditions,” national general secretary of the All India Central Paramilitary Forces and Ex-servicemen Welfare Association PS Nair said.

The government has recently said it will soon come out with a notification for OROP implementation for the veterans of the armed forces.