Just 3 officers look after welfare of ex-servicemen in 23 districts of Punjab

Tribune News Service

Vijay Mohan

Chandigarh, October 30

With no fresh appointment of officers since 2016 and existing staff superannuating, the Department of Defence Services Welfare (DDSW), Punjab, will be left with only two officers against the sanctioned strength of 25 posts, besides the director, to look after the welfare of ex-servicemen in the state by the end of this month.

Of the three officers presently serving with the department, two are posted at Patiala and Ropar and one at headquarters in Chandigarh. They are handling the responsibility of 23 districts of the state and the work at headquarters. One of them is retiring this month. Besides there are two other officers engaged after retirement as officers on special duty with the director and managing director, War Memorial, Amritsar.

Of three, one retires today

• One of the officers, Lt Col PS Bajwa, is retiring this month. He has moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court highlighting the staff crunch in the department
• He has sought that under provisions of the Punjab Civil Services Rules, he be allowed to continue serving till the age of 60 years instead of 58, since he is a disabled soldier

Government sources said the move for appointment of new officers in the department is underway. The case for appointments, which was taken up in 2020, is under process and various modalities are being worked out since the number of authorised posts in the department was increased recently.

The Department of Defence Services Welfare is mandated with managing and looking after the welfare of ex-servicemen in the state. It is headed by a retired officer of the rank of Brigadier or equivalent.

Punjab contributes a significant chunk of manpower to the armed forces and currently has an ex-servicemen strength of around three lakh in addition to their dependants. The department also assists serving defence personnel when it comes to dealing with various civilian departments.

One of the officers retiring this month, Lt Col PS Bajwa, has moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court, highlighting the staff crunch in the department. He has sought that under provisions of the Punjab Civil Services Rules, he be allowed to continue serving till the age of 60 years instead of 58, since he is a disabled soldier.

While seeking a stay on his retirement on October 31, he has contended that though the extension in service for two years beyond the age of 58 was stopped according to instructions issued by the state government in February 2020, some officials working in the DDSW had been allowed to serve beyond 58 years of age.

The petition states that the Punjab Defence Services Welfare Officers (Group-A) Rules, 1986, as amended in October 2020, provided that those deputy directors or district defence services welfare officers have served for a period of less than nine years shall be superannuated on attaining the age of 60 years.

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