Army, CGDA synergy facilitates release of Rs 400 cr in pending dues to JCOs

Long-pending claims worth Rs 400 crore by a significant number of junior commissioned officers (JCOs) and other ranks of the Army have been settled following a joint initiative by the force and the defence accounts department, official sources said on Sunday.

Majority of the claims pertained to house rent allowances, pay fixation cases and education allowances to children of the Army personnel, they said.

The Army headquarters and the Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA), the office that heads the defence accounts department, carried out the pan-India outreach to clear the cases of claims, the sources said.

To clear the pending cases, a "war room" was established in the CGDA and cases were being monitored closely, the sources said, adding the exercise has benefitted a large number of JCOs and other ranks.

The outreach commenced at the beginning of this month, spearheaded by joint CGDA (grievances), under which camps were organised in all 48 'pay and account offices' across the country, they said.

Similarly, Indian Army activated their records offices to address all cases on priority, they added.

The records offices in the Army are responsible for checking the veracity of the claims while the vetted claims are finally cleared by the pay and accounts offices.

The pay and accounts offices (PAO) operate under the CGDA. There are a total 48 records offices and PAO set ups across India, one for each regiment, arm or service.

The Indian Army received a large number of grievances from the JCOs and other ranks that their claims were not cleared due to various observations.

"The issue was raised with the CGDA and the Joint CGDA (Grievances) in an unprecedented move worked expeditiously in complete synergy with the Indian Army and analysed all cases one by one through their PAOs," said an official.

The synergy between the Army and CGDA resulted in the release of long-pending claims worth Rs 400 crore for JCOs and Other Ranks, the sources said.