The first installment of nearly Rs.5500 crore has been paid for implementing the OROP scheme Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said while asserting that he has quot;fulfilled the promisequot; he made to ex-servicemen on the issue that has been hanging fire for the last 40 years.
The Prime Minister while celebrating Diwali with army and ITBP personnel in Sumdo here over 270 km from state capital Shimla also lauded the role of the security force personnel guarding and protecting the country.
quot;Spent time with our courageous ITBP_official amp; Army Jawans at Sumdo Kinnaur district Himachal Pradesh. Jai Jawan! Jai Hind!quot; he tweeted.
Earlier in his ‘Mann ki Baat’ programme on All India Radio he saluted the valour of the armed forces and lauded their sacrifice while dedicating the festival of Diwali to them.
quot;The OROP was not about just Rs.200 or Rs.500 crore but Rs.10000 crore… After I became the PM and decided that I had to do implement it the entire government lost sleep over it… It was not possible for the government to pay in one go so I requested the ex-servicemen to accept it in four instalments.
quot;The money will reach them in four installments. Nearly Rs.5500 crore has been paid as the first installmentquot; Modi said.
He said the issue had been pending for quot;40 yearsquot; as certain people in the previous governments quot;did not knowquot; about OROP scheme and therefore quot;only Rs.500 crore was allocatedquot; for the purpose.
Modi also said that many people thought that if the scheme was not implemented a section of quot;ex-servicemen would turn against the governmentquot;.
The Prime Minister on his way to Sumdo met civilians at Himachal’s Chango village close to the Sino-Indian border.
quot;Made unscheduled stop at Chango village close to Somdu to wish people on Diwali. Was deeply touched by the impromptu reception amp; their joyquot; Modi tweeted.
quot;The Prime Minister spent time with ITBP jawans and personnel of Dogra Scouts of army at Sumdo on border of Kinnaur and Spiti and distributed sweets to themquot; an official said.
Modi also met personnel of the General Reserve Engineering Force GREF a branch of Border Roads Organisation BRO entrusted with construction and maintenance of border roads and also executing the Rohtang Tunnel project the official said.
After coming in power in 2014 the Prime Minister had celebrated his first Diwali with soldiers posted in Siachen and in 2015 he celebrated it at the India-Pakistan border in Punjab.nbsp;