High-altitude allowance for armed forces hiked New Delhi, Aug. 2 (PTI): The Union Cabinet today brought cheer to soldiers keeping vigil in icy Himalayan heights by enhancing their high-altitude allowance four-fold and giving them more travel facilities to visit their loved ones back home. In a major decision that will benefit a large number of armed forces personnel guarding snowbound posts at heights of between 14,000 and 19,000 feet, the Cabinet increased the high -altitude allowance for officers to Rs 5,600 a month and for personnel below officer rank to Rs 3,734 a month. The step taken at a Cabinet meeting presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is part of measures to relieve stress among personnel deployed in hard conditions. Figures tabled in Parliament indicate that over 600 armed forces personnel have committed suicide since 2003. However, the allowances for officers and men posted on the Siachen glacier, the world's highest battlefield, and for those engaged in counter-insurgency operations were left untouched as these will be reviewed by the Sixth Pay Commission. Officers posted in Siachen get a special allowance of Rs 7,000 a month while other personnel get Rs 4,600. Today's decision will benefit personnel posted in Kargil and Drass in Jammu and Kashmir and on the Sino-India border in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. The armed forces now have two categories of allowances for personnel posted at high altitudes. For posting at heights above 14,000 feet, officers get Rs 1,600 a month, junior commissioned officers Rs 720 and other ranks Rs 400. Officers posted at heights ranging from 9,000 feet to 14,000 feet get Rs 1,060 a month, while JCOs get Rs 480 and other ranks Rs 270. "These personnel will now get allowances that are almost 80 per cent of those being paid to troops on Siachen," a defence ministry official said. The Cabinet also had good tidings for soldiers engaged in counter-insurgency operations as it made all personnel across the board eligible for two free railway warrants a year against one as of now. The Cabinet also allowed all armed forces personnel to undertake a leave travel journey to a station of their choice without any restrictions. With today's action, the government changed laws made under British rule that restricted travel by service personnel only to distances of 1,420 km. Ironically the original rules were enacted to allow British nationals in the pre- independence area to travel to Mumbai to board ships bound for England. Briefing reporters, Information and Broadcasting Minister P R Dasmunsi said the issues concerning the armed forces personnel had been occupying the mind of the government for the past few years. "The government was concerned over the conditions of the soldiers and the Cabinet debated for almost an hour a note brought by Defence Minister A K Antony and decided to enhance the facilities," he said. The new benefits mean that personnel can now avail of a free warrant or a leave travel concession in alternate years, defence sources said. The Cabinet also decided to refer to a Group of Ministers a proposal to increase the retirement age of regimental commissioned officers. The army now has 220 such officers in its ranks. These personnel were the only ones left out of the report submitted by the A V Singh committee to improve service conditions. The regimental commissioned officers, who rise from the ranks, retire after 12 years of service or at the age of 52, whichever is earlier. They are now seeking that this should be changed to 14 years of service or attaining the age of 54, which would make them eligible to rise to the time scale rank of lieutenant colonel. Defence Minister Antony, who recently made a series of visits to foward areas in the northeast, Jammu and Kashmir and Siachen, had received many requests from soldiers for increasing the number of free travel warrants. After the Cabinet meeting, Antony said the new measures will help in alleviating stress and keep the morale of troops in high-altitude and insurgency-prone areas high. Courtesy : The Hindu