OLD AGE HOMES FOR VETERAN MILITARY EX-SERVICEMEN
Ramblings of a Retired Mind
By
VIKRAM KARVE
Sometime in the 1970’s the Army started a residential
housing scheme for Army personnel under the aegis of Army Welfare Housing Organization
(AWHO).
Since, in the spirit of “jointmanship”, the
Army had excluded the other two services, the Navy and Air Force started a
similar scheme for Navy and Air Force personnel called Air Force Naval Housing
Board (AFNHB).
These schemes were meant exclusively for
Armed Forces personnel.
Recently I happened to visit one such housing
complex and found a large number of civilians inside.
I asked my friend who lives there why there
were so many civilians in a scheme meant exclusively for Defence Personnel,
serving and retired.
My friend said: “This complex is more than 30
years old, so many of the original allottees have since died and their houses
have been inherited by their children. As you know hardly any “army brats” join
the army now-a-days and they prefer to work in the civilian world, so many of
the civilians you see are kids of erstwhile “fauji” owners. Many of them are
settled abroad or work in other cities, so they have given their houses to
civilians on rent, since civilians give higher rent. Gradually, as the old “faujis”
die and their civilian children inherit their houses, this will become a
civilian colony – only the name will be fauji!”
So, in effect, are the AWHO and AFHNB
building houses for civilians?
I think it would be better if AWHO and AFNHB
build Old Age Homes instead of houses.
These old age homes can be allotted to senior
citizen military veterans on monthly rental basis till they die.
At least, this way, the ownership will remain
with the military and a larger number of needy ex-servicemen will benefit.
In any case, children of most military
officers are settled abroad and even those who live in India are busy with
their careers and may not live with their parents.
The needs of veteran defence personnel abandoned
by their children in old age will be better served by Old Age Homes with
various concomitant geriatric facilities like Assisted Living, medical care etc
So, does it not make sense to scrap the existing
AWHO and AFNHB and create a Defence Services Old Age Home Scheme (DSOAHS)
covering all the three services?
Let the Armed Forces stop building houses and
start building Old Age Homes for service personnel – this will give veterans a
sense of security.
Do you agree?
