It’s a typical case of locking the stable door after the horse has bolted. After letting the Air HQ mishandle the situation for nearly a month, the defence ministry woke up to sort out the air force ‘rebellion’, the blame for which should go both to the ministry and the air force top brass. In a knee-jerk reaction, the ministry did the usual: set up a committee chaired by defence secretary Ajit Kumar with the vice-chiefs of the three services and financial advisor, defence services, as members.
The committee’s task: to examine the anomalies and distortions identified by the service headquarters, especially those relating to risk-related allowances and trade rationalisation for personnel below officer’s rank. It will also look into the grievances received directly from service personnel.